A computer game in which players control an American soldier on a mission to “wipe out the Muslim race” has been condemned as tasteless and offensive by British Muslim groups.

The game called Muslim Massacre, which is available as a free download over the internet, allows players to take control of an “American Hero” whose goal is to “ensure that no Muslim man or woman is left alive.”

After being parachuted into the Middle East armed with a machine gun and rocket launcher, the aim is to kill as many Arabs as possible – some dressed as terrorists, others apparently civilians.

Players progress through various levels where they take on Osama bin Laden, Mohammed and finally Allah.

The game’s creator, a freelance programmer known as Sigvatr, described the game as “fun and funny”, but it has sparked anger amongst British Muslim groups who accused it of glamourising violence against Muslims in the Middle East.

“Encouraging children and young people in a game to kill Muslims is unacceptable, tasteless and deeply offensive,” said Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of The Ramadhan Foundation, a leading British Muslim youth organisation.

He added: “'If it was the other way around, with a game featuring Muslims killing Israelis or Americans, there would be uproar and rightly so.”

Mr Shafiq called for internet service providers to remove the site from its services.

There was confusion as to whether the game, as some had argued, was a parody of American foreign policy.

Writing on an online forum, Sigvatr, said: “I think it's pretending to be legitimate commentary and I'm sure there will be lots of people who defend it on those grounds, but ultimately it's just a game where you blow the gently caress (slang for a common swear word) out of arabs.”

“Anyone is free to believe whatever they won't (sic) though, because I don't even know how to interpret it myself anymore. The bottom line is that I enjoyed making it and it's fun to play.”

But later, he added: “The Muslims represented in the game aren't meant to be based on actual Muslims.

“If I was to try and come up with a meaning for the game at this moment, it would probably be something along the lines of metaphorically destroying the stereotypical depiction of a Muslim.”

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