he touch screen of Nintendo DS has created a legion of pocket Picassos. Around the world, artistic Nintendo DS owners have contributed to image galleries that capture the temporary art they created using the system's built-in PictoChat chatting and drawing program. PictoChat was designed to send wireless messages between Nintendo DS owners, but users are turning the touch-screen into a high-tech canvas.

Some of the images show simple scenes, while others depict video game and comic book characters in great detail. A variety of galleries can be seen at online fan sites like ndsart.net or in the discussion boards of nintendo.com.

"The creativity shown by these artists illustrates the innovation and new thinking Nintendo DS was designed to inspire," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Nintendo DS fires the imagination with its dual screens -- a touch screen to create the art and a second to display it."

PictoChat creations can be viewed at by clicking to visit the Nintendo forums.