Barack Obama said a few times during his campaign that we need to “put the video games away.” But what if playing a video game could actually improve education and prevent the spread of AIDS?

There’s a new multi-player PC game being launched in Kenya called Pamoja Mtaani, which means “together in the hood” in Swahili. Players follow the stories of five main characters. And through puzzles, missions and mini-games, they learn about behaviors that reduce the risk of getting HIV, like proper condom use and getting tested. The game creators even included local hip-hop music, celebrities and fashion to make the experience feel authentic to Kenyan teens. Click the image below to check out video trailers that introduce the game’s characters.

The idea of playing a video game to learn about HIV/AIDS sounds pretty cool. Do you think your sex ed classes would be more fun if you could learn about topics like pregnancy and STDs by playing video games?

This year marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. You probably weren’t even born when World AIDS Day first started. But since 1988, the 1st of December is a day to come together and raise awareness about the global AIDS epidemic.

AIDS is a major health concern for everyone on the planet. And the solution to this global problem has to start from the bottom up—it starts with you! Do your part to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS: Get educated about the virus and how it’s transmitted.

If you’ve never had sex, great! Abstaining from oral, anal and vaginal sex is the only way to be 100- percent safe from HIV/AIDS. And if you’ve already had sex, that’s OK. Make sure you and your partner get tested for HIV. You may choose to stop having sex, as that’s the safest choice. But if you choose to continue having sex, properly using a latex barrier, like a condom or Sheer Glyde dam, each and every time you have oral, anal or vaginal sex, will protect you and your partner from HIV/AIDS, too.

Want to test your knowledge of HIV/AIDS? Play AVERT.org’s game, AIDS Challenge. Or try their World AIDS Day Quiz.

How would you react to hearing that as many as 50 people in your high school may have been exposed to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS? It sounds like a really bad nightmare, but it’s the real deal for teens at Normandy High School in Normandy, MO. To find out if anyone has been exposed, students are being tested for HIV on a voluntary basis, one class at a time.

The school district doesn’t know who may have exposed the students to HIV or how it was transmitted. And the lack of information has some students scared. A 16-year-old sophomore said her boyfriend, who attends another school, broke up with her after hearing the news; a rival school’s football team didn’t want to play against Normandy; and some students even wanted to transfer out of the school district entirely!

These are all examples of the fear people have of HIV when they don’t have the facts about the virus and how it’s transmitted. HIV is spread through blood, semen, vaginal fluids or breast milk. And you can only be exposed to HIV through direct contact with those fluids through high-risk behaviors—like unprotected oral, anal or vaginal sex or sharing needles. So unless you’ve engaged in these risky behaviors, there’s zero chance of getting infected.

There’s only one way to know if someone has HIV—getting tested. So if you decide to have sex, you and your partner should get tested and find out each other’s status. And if you have oral, anal or vaginal sex, use latex barriers, like condoms or Sheer Glyde dental dams. And remember: not having oral, anal or vaginal sex is the only way to guarantee you won’t get HIV from sex.

Ringtones are a popular and important way for teens to express themselves. Imagine if you could have a ringtone that made a powerful statement about improving sexual health.

Introducing the condom ringtone! It’s part of a campaign to promote safer sex and stop the spread of HIV in India.

Visit Condomcondom.org for more info and to download the ringtone!

This isn’t the first time that a fun and friendly safer sex message has been used in India. Check out this traditional Indian dance video about using condoms:

Think you can tell if someone has HIV? Posornot.com, a new Web site from mtvU, challenges you to tell whether or not someone is HIV positive just by looking at his or her picture.

You might think it’s easy to spot someone who’s HIV positive. You might use the way a person looks, his or her interests or even where a person lives as clues to his or her status. But in real life, it’s impossible to guess whether or not a person is HIV positive just by looking at him or her. There’s only one way to know if you or someone else is HIV positive or not—an HIV test.

HIV doesn’t discriminate, and anyone that has sex can be at risk of infection. People are often infected with HIV and don’t even realize it. That’s why it’s so important to talk to your partner about getting tested BEFORE having sex. And if you both decide to take the plunge and have sex, make sure to properly use condoms each and every time you have vaginal, anal or oral sex.

The best way to prevent the spread of HIV is to know your status and practice safer sex. Friday, June 27th is National HIV Testing Day. So find a low-cost clinic in your area and get tested.