New York - Microsoft's (NASD: MSFT) research arm on Tuesday announced the formation of a joint research endeavor with New York University and a range of other schools, which aims to "provide the fundamental scientific evidence to support games as learning tools for math and science subjects among middle-school students."

Microsoft Research will provide $1.5 million, and NYU and its partner schools another $1.5 million to the Games for Learning Institute (G4LI).

G4LI will "identify which qualities of computer games engage students and develop relevant, personalized teaching strategies that can be applied to the learning process."

"While educational games are commonplace, little is known about how, why or even if they are effective," said John Nordlinger, senior research manager for Microsoft Research's gaming efforts.

"Microsoft Research, together with NYU and the consortium of academic partners, will address these questions from a multidisciplinary angle, exploring what makes certain games compelling and playable and what elements make them effective, providing critically important information to researchers, game developers and educators to support a new era of using games for educational purposes."

The formation of the institute follows investments of more than $3 million by Microsoft Research into academic research of video games since 2004.

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