LONDON- A charity's video transposing the effects of the Syrian civil war onto an ordinary girl growing up in London has gone viral on the Internet.

Save the Children UK's 94-second clip, released on Wednesday, had racked up around 14 million hits on the YouTube video-sharing website by Saturday.

The clip invites viewers to imagine "if Britain were Syria".

Starting with the smiling girl blowing out nine candles on a birthday cake, it shows one-second glimpses of her life, which slowly changes from playing with toys and learning the recorder as war takes hold.

Brief snippets of news clips are heard in the background, as the electricity cuts out, a blast goes off, the family rushes into a car and gunfire is heard.

The girl is shown dirty-faced, crying, cowering in fear, going through a makeshift checkpoint and with soldiers.

At the end, she is seen, cleaned up, in a medical facility, with a tear rolling down her cheek as she marks her next birthday with a solitary candle on a metal plate.

"Just because it isn't happening here doesn't mean it's not happening," Save the Children's website says.

"Help us make sure the plight of Syria's children is not forgotten."

The charity said they wanted to bring the Syria conflict's effects to people's doorsteps.

SOURCE: AFP