Aiming to establish the city-state as a global center for interactive digital media, the government plans to start giving cash to game designers and developers.

Under a new plan dubbed "Invigorate," selected Singapore-based software teams will be eligible for up to $25,000 of mobile game prototype development coin. They will also be mentored by game studios and publishers in a masterclass environment. Singapore’s Media Development Authority says it will bankroll up to 10 schemes.

"We are preparing for Web 3.0, where we will be in 10 years time when broadcast and Internet have come together," says MDA deputy director Michael Yap.

The MDA has also persuaded the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to set up a local R&D center, and was instrumental in attracting Lucasfilm Animation to set up its first non-U.S. production facility in the equatorial state.

And Singapore’s tiny size and lack of natural resources need not be a hindrance to developing a global media business. "We are good at finding business niches -- competitive advantages in places where they should not be," Yap says.

MDA last month announced a $50 million guarantee scheme that will aim to lure foreign movie productions into the territory.

Clearly, the island nation isn’t just playing games.

© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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