According to the Press and Publication Administration of China , China will invest 1 to 2 billion yuan (about 120.5 to 241 million US dollars) in a program to develop some 100 high quality Chinese-developed online games from 2004 to 2008.

The investment is an attempt to combat the dominance of imported online games, with Chinese games currently accounting for only 10% of the online computer games in the country.

Yu Yongzhan, deputy director of the administration, said that nearly 50 businesses are involved in the program, and projects listed in the program will be given preferential policies in terms of taxation and financing.

China's online game publications took in 1.32 billion yuan (159 million dollars) in 2003, up nearly 50% from a year earlier, as online games emerged as a kind of mainstream gaming product, according to Yu.