Over at Videoludica, they've added a game profile for a pretty darn interesting hybrid serious game, explaining: "Outbreak is a new game project, a part of the Serious Games initiative, that hopes to bring critical, real-world issues into a high-quality, fun game on the commercial game market. It is being designed by Angel Inokon, a Masters Student within the Learning Design and Technology program at the Stanford School of Education, and Jeff Bowman, a first-year student at the University of California, Berkeley, pursuing a B.A. in Computer Science."

Matteo Bitanti has constructed a page quoting from the official game website, and explaining: "In the next 5-10 years the H5N1 virus (Avian Flu) will mutate and threaten millions of lives across the globe. Ironically, the first lives claimed to the virus will be the young and the healthy. American young adults, especially, must be mentally prepared to survive for up to 18 months hunkered down in quarantine in hopes of escaping a virus that kills 50% of its victims. Employing the right strategies today, could mean survival tomorrow."

Thus: "Outbreak is a computer game in development that puts you in charge of responding to the virus at every level. Every family, every city, and every nation will rely on your decisions." There's plenty more info on the official Outbreak site - particularly good is a video PowerPoint presentation explaining the concepts behind the thought-provoking title.