The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) and The Independent Games Developers Association (TIGA) today outlined details of support that UK Trade & Investment will be offering to the games industry this year. Most of the activities and missions planned focus around E3 in May and the European Games Network event scheduled to take place in London in September, although the proposed program of activity also includes trips to territories such as South Korea, Japan, and China.

　　"ELSPA is greatly encouraged and grateful for the increasingly positive and definitive support displayed by UK Trade & Investment towards our industry," said Roger Bennett, director general of ELSPA. "UK Trade & Investment will be closely involved in a number of initiatives in 2004 as part of its commitment to supporting our industry's efforts to maintain the stake-holding UK has in global games creation and development and to help establish new avenues of opportunity at all levels of our business."

　　Activities offered to game companies by UK Trade & Investment in 2004, as listed in today's press release, will include the following:

　　1. Industry meet and greet at E3 in May--providing a facility for key players from around the globe to open new channels of communication with UK interests in an informal setting.

　　2. A dedicated TIGA pre-E3 conference on Tuesday 11 May on the theme of "US opportunities for UK developers."

　　3. VIP reception at European Games Network in September, in cooperation with the Mayor of London's office--giving senior management from overseas companies the opportunity to discover the diverse offerings within the UK and outward into Europe.

　　4. Inward missions around European Games Network of up to 20 high-level individuals from prospective business partners in USA, Japan, Korea, and emerging overseas markets.

　　5. Identifying and promoting the games industry through Consulate and Embassy distribution of the new ELSPA/TIGA/UK Trade & Investment-branded "Britsoft" book throughout the world.

　　6. Games industry participation in overseas scoping missions, such as the South Korean trip in February, which featured both ELSPA and TIGA representatives--supplying invaluable market information from key territories. Other territories to be targeted include USA, Japan, and China.

　　7. Inclusion in missions to industry events abroad, including GDC in San Jose in March and CTIA in San Francisco in October.

　　"The games business is a dynamic industry with a variety of assets that offer significant potential to the British economy," said a spokesperson for UK Trade & Investment. "We are keen to assist it in all its facets, in particular by highlighting its position as one of the leading sources for innovative games content globally while ensuring the UK is first choice worldwide for development investment and for locating and accessing the lucrative European markets for global companies."