Man-eater Hannibal Lecter is being transformed into a 3D character for a new computer game.

The Silence of the Lambs character, portrayed in the film by Sir Anthony Hopkins, is to star in his own action adventure.

The game is being developed by Arxel Tribe and Universal Studios.

European firm Arxel Tribe is also putting the finishing touches to the eagerly awaited adventure game Hitchcock, due out in October for PCs and Macs.

The company is promising Hannibal will be one of the "most frightening games ever" as players are pitted against the monster.

Red Dragon

It is due for release towards the end of 2002.

Hannibal was released in cinemas in the UK in February 2001 and became a resounding box office success.

Producers are said to be keen to bring Thomas Harris' 1981 novel Red Dragon to the big screen as a prequel to Silence of the Lambs.

The movie would effectively be a remake of Manhunter, directed by Michael Mann in 1986, which was also based on the Harris novel, the first to feature Lecter as the flesh-eating psychiatrist.

Jodie Foster, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of FBI agent Clarice Starling in the Silence of the Lambs, passed up the sequel, leaving Julianne Moore to fill her shoes.

Sir Anthony also picked up an Academy Award for his portrayal of the cultured, Chianti-quaffing doctor.