Computer games big business

A computer games competition over the next three days in Britain has attracted eight hundred competitors and highlighted the huge returns now being made by the industry.

Computer gaming generates over twenty billion dollars a year -- putting it ahead of music and second only to film as the world's largest entertainment industry. Some players known as gamers are turning professional and playing in an international league -- the Cyberathlete Professional League.

Later this year, the first World Cyber Games are due to be held in South Korea with qualifying rounds in twenty-five countries.

The prize is expected to be worth a quarter of a million dollars.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service