Fury over French soldier pictured wearing 'Call of Duty' grinning skeleton mask

A French soldier has sparked outrage after being pictured wearing a grinning skeleton facemask like one featured in the ultra-violent computer game Call of Duty while serving in Mali.

Military authorities have launched an investigation to discover the soldier's identity after he was photographed using the mask, also known as a death's head, to protect himself from dust kicked up by a helicopter.

The trooper is one of an estimated 2,000 French soldiers sent to the west African nation to fight hardline Islamic extremists who seized control last year.

Death's Head: This picture of a French soldier wearing a Call of Duty style facemask has prompted a furious outcry

Menacing: The Death's Head masks have been popularised by the violent Call of Duty video games

The trooper is one of an estimated 2,000 French soldiers sent to the west African nation to fight hardline Islamic extremists who seized control last year

The skeleton mask features prominently in the Call of Duty Mode Warfare 2 and 3 games where it is wo by the character Ghost an SAS soldier.

Senior French military officer Colonel. Thierry Burkhard said: 'This is unacceptable behavior. This image is not representative of action by France in Mali.'

The skeleton mask features prominently in the Call of Duty where it is wo by the character Ghost an SAS soldier

Photographer Issouf Sanogo from Agence France Press described the moment the picture was taken on a blog.

'A helicopter was coming in to land and chuing up tremendous dust clouds. Instinctively, all the soldiers grabbed their scarfs to avoid getting a mouthful of sand,' he wrote.

'I saw the soldier wearing an odd bandana and I took the photo. At the moment I didn"t find it particularly extraordinary or shocking. The soldier wasn"t posing.'

'I don"t know who the soldier is, and I would have trouble recognizing him if I saw him again. I believe, and I hope, that it will be impossible to identify him.'

Although popularised by Call of Duty, pictures of U.S. service personel wearing the masks are common and one was wo by Actor Christin Bale in the 2005 film Harsh Times.

Yesterday Britain's Prince Harry was widely criticised for suggesting he was 'probably quite useful' as a helicopter gunner because he played computer games.

France's operation to assist the Mali army began last week and has already seen several towns recaptured as forces move northwards.

The Islamist fighters have controlled the vast desert stretches of northe Mali, with the weak govement clinging to the south, since a military coup in the capital in March last year unleashed chaos.