Fed-Backed Prizes Handed Out

The White House on Tuesday congratulated teams of Americans who won $60,000 in government-funded prizes by developing kids' video games that encourage physical activity and healthy eating, in the culmination of a campaign aimed at beating obesity and promoting federally backed prizes.

One winning app lets children ski with digital creatures in their houses using a webcam, while another dares kids to pileup food without breaking a virtual scale. Then there's the game that teaches kids how to match calories consumed during snack time with calories burned during exercise. For instance, 2,600 sit-ups would compensate for an afternoon candy bar.

The Apps for Healthy Kids competition is part of first lady Michelle Obama's Lets Move! campaign -- and a larger governmentwide effort to use rewards for stimulating innovation in agencies and communities. The 11 winning games are the product of a new way of generating solutions to the government's problems that is becoming increasingly popular in the tough economy.

Instead of relying solely on paid in-house talent and contractors, agencies are offering incentives to the public to find fixes for everything from rampant obesity to gas-guzzling cars. Earlier this month, the General Services Administration launched Challenge.gov, a website where Americans can vie for cash prizes and agency personnel can quickly launch online contests via a template.

The Agriculture Department, which kicked off the healthy kids challenge in March, collected 95 submissions from students, developers, designers and organizations.