The US Senate Health Education Labour and Pensions Committee has approved plans for a new study on the effects of electronic media on children.

Conducted by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the study will examine the role and effects, both positive and negative, of electronic media on the lives of children.

The CDC will issue grants to researchers over a period of six years to examine the impact of media on children's and adolescents' ability to learn, and their social, emotional, physical and behavioral development.

"This a big step towards helping parents get the information they need about the effects of media on their children," said Senator Joe Lieberman.

"America is a media-rich society but, despite the flood of information, we still lack critical information. No one is looking out, in a systematic way, for the cumulative impact of today's electronic media on our children."

Senator Lieberman's bill, the Children Media Research and Advancement Act, is co-sponsored by members of both parties, including Senator Hillary Clinton.

"Our children are growing up immersed in interactive, digital and wireless media that is constantly changing," said Senator Clinton.

"We need better, more current research to study the impact of the new media dominating our kids' lives and we need to make sure our research keeps up with the times as technology continues to advance."