Videogames aren’t just pure, undiluted evil, you know - for example, Sony’s PlayStation Portable may have saved the life of a kidnap victim in the US, after he escaped while his kidnappers became preoccupied with playing on the handheld.

The story of Jose Ignacio Ortega Garcia’s kidnapping began in mid-June, when the construction industry boss was driven into woods by Jose Sanchez, 18, and Juan Gonzales, 28, and then bound and beaten. From there, Sanchez and Gonzales drove Garcia to a Louisville hotel, where he was held captive, beaten, cut, burned and psychologically tortured. Over the next nine days, the kidnappers are accused of extorting a total of $27,000 (£13,000 / €20,000) from Garcia.

With things looking decidedly bleak, an opportunity to escape presented itself to Garcia after Gonzales gave his fellow kidnapper a PSP to help pass the empty hours in the hotel room. According to FBI Agent Buddy Early, "Sanchez played the video game virtually all day that day and much of the night," allowing Garcia to loosen his bindings. And when the teenage Sanchez nodded off, Garcia bolted, alerting hotel staff to his situation.

Good to see videogames (combined with a hefty dose of old-fashioned human stupidity) saving the day.