London, Sept. 27: A computer game has been devised to help Indian students freshly arrived in the UK get over the “culture shock” of encountering a very different way of life.

The game, called C-Shock (available online at www.port.c-shock.co.uk), has been devised by Nipan Maniar, a Gujarati and a senior lecturer in the School of Creative Technologies at the University of Portsmouth.

Maniar told The Telegraph yesterday: “I have drawn from my own experiences of arriving in the UK eight years ago as a 24-year-old student.”

The computer game has a separate set of questions for men and women and takes them through various options of how to behave in particular situations.

While some of the tips offered by Maniar are plain common sense, others take account of the differing cultures of India and Britain.

Maniar admits he grew up in a fairly traditional Gujarati society in Ahmedabad: “The food was vegetarian, there was no alcohol and to this day I have not seen a lip-to-lip kiss in public.”

He said: “I grew up thinking alcohol is bad, that you get drunk and beat your wife. Now, I have discovered drinking in moderation can be good, people are more fun.”

Displays of physical affection in public can be an offence in India, he said. “Here, when you see a couple kissing in public, you tend to lower your eyes at first. But after a while you learn to ignore it.”

Also slightly tricky is the question of how to address people. “Aunty” or “Uncle”, expressions of respect in India, along with “Sir”, are out. The use of Christian names has become much more acceptable in Britain, even when students are addressing their teachers — something that would be considered quite shocking in India.

The University of Portsmouth, which has 3,000 foreign students and for whom the game was created, has endorsed Maniar’s product.

It is claimed that the website has already had over 16,000 hits with many more expected in the week when hundreds of students arrive to take up their university place in an unfamiliar country.

Maniar explained: “When I arrived in Britain I found some aspects of British culture very different to what I was used to in India and it was hard to know how to react or behave appropriately.”

He added: “When I became a student ambassador I noticed overseas students struggling with the same concepts I had grappled with myself and as a member of staff I decided to use technology to help.”

For example, he found he was losing marks because he was “not referencing my work properly – something we are not careful about in India”.

Maniar’s game follows an international student arriving in the UK for the first time. The student sees a map of the campus and is given tasks to find specific locations, each containing a different game or quiz.

Clicking on images triggers messages about the images they may see on their travels as well as helpful hints about life as a student, such as how to manage money, live a healthy lifestyle and get a job. The game also includes important information such as police and emergency telephone numbers.

Maniar said the game could be tailored to suit other universities in the UK. “It could even incorporate a whole city guide and become a useful interactive tool for tourists wanting to learn about a new city very quickly.”

He makes a charge of, at least, £500 to adapt the game for other institutions and is also looking for funding worth £100,000 to devise a version that could occupy passengers on flights lasting three or more hours.

The university’s international director, Joe Docherty, said feedback had been overwhelmingly positive.

“Many of our students are from South Asia, the Gulf and West Africa where cultures are very different from our own. Some adapt to their new lives very quickly but for those who take longer to adjust, there is a great deal of help and support and I’m delighted to see so many students taking advantage of C-shock.”