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For the first time, Hong Kong's digital entertainment industry is showcasing its achievements and capabilities for an international audience at the prestigious Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles.

More than 60 local digital entertainment companies are displaying their technologies, products and services at the Hong Kong Pavilion during the May 14-16 trade show.

The pavilion was set up by the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau (CITB), the Hong Kong Productivity Council, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Association. It is co-funded by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund.

Hong Kong delegates to the exhibition have encountered no problems related to the SARS outbreak.

The Hong Kong Pavilion features the technologies and capabilities of the local digital entertainment industry in game development and production, animation and visual effects. It is an opportunity to disseminate information that will facilitate business contacts with exhibition visitors from all over the world.

A special CD-ROM containing excerpts from local digital entertainment productions is being distributed to visitors to demonstrate the high quality of Hong Kong's work in the digital entertainment field.

Winners of the first Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Excellence Awards (HKDEEA) are taking part in the exhibition, thanks to the sponsorship of the CITB.

A spokesman for the CITB said today (May 15) that the E3 exhibition was a valuable opportunity for the local digital entertainment industry to demonstrate its expertise and talent in the development and production of digital entertainment, and to explore business opportunities in the international market.

It represents a further effort by the local digital entertainment industry to promote itself overseas following last September's successful participation in the Tokyo Game Show.

"With our advanced information infrastructures and creative talents, Hong Kong possesses the necessary qualities conducive to the development of digital entertainment," the spokesman said.

"In this regard, a Working Group on Digital Entertainment was set up under the Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee to advise the Government on how to support the development of the industry," he said.

Apart from organising the recent HKDEEA to recognise the achievements of local talent, the Government will set up a Digital Media Centre at Cyberport by the end of this year to provide shared facilities that the industry may use to turn its creative ideas into actual productions.

"The digital entertainment industry is an important element of the creative industry, and the Government is committed to further promoting its development," the spokesman said.

End/Thursday, May 15, 2003

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