In the weeks after gunman Adam Lanza massacred school children at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, the New York Times has exposed a link between the video games industry and gun makers.

The Web site for the latest Medal of Honor game, Warfighter "is like a virtual showroom" for guns, said one commentator quoted in the Times.

"Among the video game giant's marketing partners on the web site were the McMillan Group, the maker of a high-powered sniper's rifle, and Magpul, which sells high-capacity magazines and other accessories for assault-style weapons," NYT said. "Links on the Medal of Honor site allowed visitors to click through on the web sites of the game's partners and peruse their catalogs."

The video games industry was drawn into the national debate about gun violence last week when Wayne LePierre of the National Rifle Association pointed the finger at violent video games for inciting the killings in Connecticut.

"There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people," LaPierre said, as reported by TPM Livewire. "Through vicious, violent video games with names like "Bulletstorm," "Grand Theft Auto," "Mortal Kombat," and "Splatterhouse.""

Few studies have shown a link between violent video games and gun violence, such as that suggested by LaPierre. However, the New York Times piece does paint a picture of two industries with a mutually beneficial relationship.

Gun makers such as Glock, Browning, and Remington regularly feature in the top shoot-em-up video games, such as Electronic Arts' Medal of Honor Series and Activision's popular Call of Duty games. However, the video games companies have denied receiving payment to display the realistic weapons in their games.