According to Kou Xiaowei, a senior official with the State Administration of Press and Publications, The China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference, the first of its kind to be launched by the Chinese government, will be held in Beijing from January 16-18.

A host of departments are cooperating to sponsor the planned expo, including the State Administration of Press and Publications, National Copyright Administration, Ministry of the Information Industry, Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Education.

Kou commented that China's ability to design game software is still weak, depsite the size of the market–a sign, he believes, that China should increase its fight against piracy in order to encourage domestic game companies to independently design and produce online game software, as well as increasing foreign investment in the industry.

So far, 130 domestic and overseas companies, including Sony, Nokia, Shenda and Sohu, have applied to attend the expo.