LORD Of The Rings supremo Peter Jackson is to produce the big-screen movie version of hit computer game Halo.
The Oscar winner will take the helm of the film which is due to be released in mid 2007.

It tells the story of futuristic soldier Master Chief who has to save the world from aliens.

The screenplay has been written by Alex Garland, the creator of The Beach which starred Leonardo DiCaprio. Jackson said:

"I am a huge fan of the game and look forward to helping it come alive on the cinema screen."

Like Lord Of The Rings, the film will be shot in Jacksonís home country of New Zealand.

Jackson is currently finishing production of Christmas blockbuster King Kong. He said while filming the movie he used his spare time to practice a different kind of shooting skills on Halo 2.

The film adaptation of Halo is a collaboration between 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures and Microsoft Bungie Studios, the creators of the original game.

It was announced last night at the European preview of Microsoft's new Xbox 360 console in Amsterdam.

Halo joins a long list of movies inspired by computer games including two Lara Croft Tomb Raider adventures, Resident Evil and the forthcoming action-packed version of Doom starring The Rock.