One is a rather portly plumber with a habit of bashing his head against bricks to flush out growth-inducing mushrooms, the other a diminutive blue hedgehog who wears spotless white gloves.

But the Chinese authorities have decided they make eminent mascots for the Beijing Olympics, and have paved the way for what will be their first outing together.

Mario – of Mario Bros fame – and Sonic the Hedgehog, two of the greatest rivals in video game history, are to appear jointly for the first time in the official game for the 2008 Olympics.

‘Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games’, which will be released by Sega and Nintendo in time for Christmas, is set in Beijing, and will allow players to pit the two iconic characters against one another as they compete in traditional Olympic events.

The stadia in which the events – including the 100m sprint, table tennis and swimming – take place will be based on the real versions in the host city, and much of the signage in the game will be in Chinese, Sega said.

“Bringing together the two most famous characters of gaming, who have traditionally been such strong competitors, under the banner of the Olympics is a great opportunity for gamers to embrace the spirit of the Games,” Mike Hayes, president of Sega Europe, said.

“It’s also a chance to reflect the International Olympic Committee’s wish to bring the Olympics to a younger audience.”

Many of the details of the game remain to be confirmed, but players will be able to choose from a range of characters in the two games’ respective stables, including Luigi, Mario’s brother, and draw on the special powers of each – in Mario’s case strength, in Sonic’s, speed.

Mr Hayes also assured players that Mario would not be removing his trademark blue overalls when he takes to the water.

The game was conceived by Sega, which makes Sonic, after it won the license to make the official 2008 Olympic video game.

Nintendo was approached with the idea of bringing Mario on board, and Sega then developed the game in Japan, working in close collaboration with Shigeru Miyamoto, the original creator of Mario for Nintendo, who signed off on the decisions involving his character.

Matt Pierce, publisher of Edge, a gaming magazine, said that a game in which Mario and Sonic came together was something “a whole generation of gamers never thought they’d see,” and would have widespread appeal.

“Being able to pit these two very historical characters against one another for the first time will be very exciting,” he said.

“In gaming terms only Lara Croft is this bankable.”

The only precedent, Mr Pierce said, was when Sony once brought together ‘Crash Bandicoot’ and ‘Spyro the Dragon’ – two characters which featured on the first PlayStation.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympics, which is playable on the Nintendo Wii and DS, will be published by Nintendo in Japan and Sega elsewhere in the world.

Analysts said that the divison of regions meant that Sega would take a higher slice of the publishing revenues, but that because Nintendo would take a small cut wherever a copy was sold as the provider of the platform, the balance would be evened out.

More than 14 million Nintendo DS units have been sold in Japan, as compared with 19 million in combined sales for Europe iand North America.

"Tying up with the Olympics is a clever piece of marketing by Nintendo, which has always sold the Wii as a more healthy console experience," Piers Harding-Rolls, a games analyst at Screen Digest, said. "It's impossible to say how well it will sell, though."

Sega said it would very much like to create a similar game for the London Olympics, but that it was focused on the 2008 version for the time being.

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