The Venezuelan parliament has adopted a law outlawing the production, import and sale of toy weapons and violent video games, the Globovision TV station said on Friday.

The law, violation of which is punishable by jail terms of between three and five years, will come into force in three months'' time.

National media will also be banned from running adverts for toys of a "military" nature that are likely to encourage the formation of "aggressive" tendencies among young children and teenagers, the station said.

Pressure groups in the capital, Caracas, say the bullet is one of the leading causes of death for 15-26 year olds. The government stopped releasing murder statistics in 2005.