If you can't catch the bad guy, it's game over-- this is the rule of life for computer game players. But similar thoughts might be worrying US President George W Bush as he prepares for election year with the world's most wanted man still out of his reach.

The hunt for Laden has been going on since the attack on New York's World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Progress has been slow and, with John Kerry winning the race last Tuesday to compete against Bush in presidential elections, the president needs results.