Drinking competitions and uninhibited sexual activity may be the staples of university life, but to some foreign students it all comes as a huge culture shock.

Now a mobile-phone game, developed by the University of Portsmouth, will be used to help those from overseas to navigate their way around campus social customs.

The game, called C-Shock, is the idea of Nipan Maniar, a University of Portsmouth academic and games technology expert, who admits that he found it all so alien that he cried when he arrived in England from India six years ago.

Mr Maniar, 29, hopes that the game will act as an “e-mother” or “mobile mummy” for new students.

He said: “I found some aspects of British culture very novel. When I first saw a couple kissing in public, for example, I was really shocked.

“And things such as interacting socially with others, say, in a pub, were very different to what I was used to in my own culture in India. Alcohol is banned in Gujarat where I come from, so the drinking culture came as a shock too.

Mr Maniar, a Hindu, developed the game to help other students to assimilate more easily. “I thought it would be great to have a learning vehicle to help people overcome the culture shock because if you have not experienced such things before, it’s hard to know how to react or behave appropriately.”

The game follows an international student arriving in Britain for the first time. The aim is to reduce the character’s “culture shock” rating from a default of 100 to zero by performing a series of tasks that introduce new incidents and images.The game's opening scenario is a student’s first day at university.

The student is shown a map of the campus and is given tasks to find specific locations. Clicking on images along the way warns the student about what to expect – for example, it is acceptable for students to drink alcohol and to display affection in public.

The game also includes important information such as emergency telephone numbers. Mr Maniar expects the idea to be adopted by other universities. He developed with prototype with Dr Emily Bennett, his research assistant, after consulting the University’s International Office and the British Council.

It is now in the final stages of development and is expected to be available for download from the University of Portsmouth website later this year.