Sister-site Joystiq has learned that Volvo is entering the 'advergaming' market with Volvo Drive for Life, an Xbox game that features Volvo products, namely the S40, S60 R and the XC90. Instead of flying around the track at breakneck speeds smashing headlong into every possible obstacle, the Volvo game rewards players for safe driving. Sounds like a whole lot a boring, but we'll see if we can snag one for a review. Or maybe we'll just make the people over at Joystiq do it.

The initial run is 100,000 units and will be distributed through Volvo Cars of North American dealerships. Most of the games are meant for in-dealership display, but there are some copies being offered as premiums to entice prospective and current customers.

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Advergaming is big business. It?s difficult to buy a racing game these days without real-life product promotions being slathered on every surface, but the trend is nothing new. Racing games have been featuring real-world cars for many years now and single-make games are becoming more common. Not too long ago Mercedes-Benz teamed up with Xbox developers to produce World Racing, an elaborate display of Mercedes products both old and new.