Twinity’s owner Metaversum, which has taken a totally different tack to the likes of Second Life, won the backing from existing investors Grazia Equity and Balderton Capital, which joined BFB BeteiligungsFonds Brandenburg from InvestitionsBank des Landes Brandenburg, which is managed by BC Brandenburg Capital and KfW. As you can tell the startup is based in Germany. The funding will be used for development and expanding internationally.

Back in April last year Balderton, best known for investing in and exiting from Bebo and MySQL (the former to the tune of $140 million) joined investors in Metaversum.

In Twinity, members use real profiles and realistic-looking avatars. A virtual Berlin is in public beta right now, but a virtual Singapore is set to follow this summer, and London is under construction (much like the real London if you are familiar with its roads).

While the local expansion of foreign multinationals such as Electronic Arts and Lucasfilm tend to hog the headlines, a new market study shows thecountry’s nascent interactive digital media (IDM) sector is in fact rife with local talent.

According to Deloitte Consulting, local firms make up 79 per cent of the local IDM industry and foreign companies accounted for the remaining 21 per cent.

This study, which polled 130 companies across the sector on their performance from 2007 to 2008, is one of the first few attempts to take a snapshot of a fledging industry which only came under the government spotlight in the last fewyears.

The Deloitte report revealed that there are around 585 IDM-related companies in Singapore and they added 1,500 jobs in 2008 to bring their combined employment tally to nearly 7,400.

Start-ups make up 19 per cent of IDM companieshere while small and mid-sized enterprises account for the lion’s share at 67 per cent. Large companies accounted for the rest, the survey showed.

The sector’s headcount boost is in line with its sizzling growth during the year, with itsvalue-add growing at a rate of 25 per cent to $798 million at the end of 2008. The IDM industry’s revenue also grew at a similar pace from an estimated $1 billion in 2007 to $1.3 billion in 2008.

‘This strong growth can be explained by intenseinvestments, R&D (research and development) and localisation in Singapore over the 2007 to 2008 period,’ according to the Deloitte report.

‘Such high growth suggests that Singapore is heading in the right direction,’ the firm said.

During the year, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA), which manages a $500 million war chest from the National Research Foundation, invested heavily to boost R&D in the IDM space.

These included allocating $40 million in seedfunding to support digital media start-ups as well as introducing a scheme to co-finance the creation of new computer games.

MDA also roped in partners such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to set up gaming labs and rallied investorsand distributors to set aside more money to fund local productions.

Sister agencies such as the Economic Development Board weighed in by wooing foreign media giants to plant their development operations here.

Last year, the governmentwent a step further to zone out a piece of land in Buona Vista to play host to media and gaming companies.

Called Mediapolis, the 19-hectare premises could eventually house dozens of new buildings for accommodating production houses, gamedevelopers and post- production companies when fully-completed in 2020.

‘In order to further monetise R&D-based innovation, Singapore should seek to promote greater technical standardisation, further collaboration within the IDM ecosystem andprovide customised funding to meet innovative companies’ needs based on their life cycle,’ Deloitte said.

Source : The Business Times
Author : Winston Chai

Wondering how to get started and overcome challenges faced by start-ups?

Join us at The Start-Up Story as Young Entrepreneurs and Investors come together to share with you how to get your 1st customer, make your 1st dollar or simple get started on your dreams!

More details at http://thestartupstory.com/.

SINGAPORE’S next generation of digital media whizzes are being grown with money from a $500 million fund that has gone into building digital classrooms, as well as promising commercial ventures by start-up companies and MNCs.

And now, funding will also go to research projects by companies in digital media, the Media Development Authority (MDA) said yesterday.

In the last two years, money from the Interactive Digital Media Programme Office (IDMPO) has helped 120 start-ups, and provided seed money for 68 other companies.

Funds have also gone to 64 schools and educational institutions to help them enhance teaching through digital media.

Among them was a project by the National Institute of Education to develop a multi-player game on mobile phones that would facilitate learning.

Started in 2006, the IDMPO aims to fuel the growth of interactive digital media and its research and development (R&D). To be disbursed over five years, it has more than six funding schemes now.

MDA revealed where the money had gone at yesterday’s Computer Games, Multimedia & Allied Technology (CGAT) conference but would not say how much had been given.

It hopes to fuel the growth of the media sector from $4.7 billion in 2005 to $10 billion by 2015, and add 10,000 jobs.

‘Singapore has a chance to create the next breakthrough in media,’ said Mr Michael Yap, deputy CEO and programme director of IDMPO, at the event.

Interactive digital media can encompass the areas of gaming, next generation Web and mobile technology, to name a few.

First Meta, a virtual credit card company in virtual worlds like Second Life, received funding in 2007 for R&D and manpower. Founder Aileen Sim said it saved her a lot of the heartache that most start-ups face.

‘The money allowed us to do up prototypes and other costly research. It also opened doors to investors, who saw us as more credible,’ said Ms Sim, who added that her company’s monthly revenue has hit the mid six-figures now.

With funding from IDMPO, it is currently working on converting virtual game currency into money that can be used in real life.

Mr Yap also announced that firms can start applying for new, additional funding for its latest initiative, Future of Media.

The money is to encourage companies to innovate and conduct research on next-generation media applications in television, mobile phones, virtual worlds or three-dimensional Web, books and games. MDA will accept and fund 50 to 100 companies to work on each ‘future’ field.

It wants to work these future services and applications into its massive virtual city, Co-Space, first launched about a year ago as its answer to Second Life.

IDMPO is a testament to how funding can water growth.

Between September 2007 and September last year, applications from start-ups applying for seed money of up to $50,000 leapt threefold.

Four years since establishing a studio in the city-state, Koei is hoping to add up to 60 staff over the next two years.

“The company has achieved its business objectives,” says Keiko Erikawa, founder and chairman emeritus of Koei.

“But we want to move ahead. I will not be satisfied until we further strengthen the development capabilities of the studio, both in quantity and in quality.

“Our objective is to groom a pool of talented and passionate developers who want to do Singapore proud and work relentlessly towards creating best-selling titles targeted at the global audience.”

The company is on a recruitment drive, welcoming even fresh graduates and will be sending recruits to Japan for specialised training.

Like Koei, several other leading media companies are ramping up their operations in the city-state. Ubisoft of France, which employs 70 people in Singapore, expects to increase its staff to 300 in the near term.

The company is reported to be looking for talented programmers, graphic artists, animators and game designers.

In terms of private sector training, many organisations are offering a wide range of opportunities to hone skills.

For instance, Lucasfilm’s animation studio in Singapore – its first venture outside the US – has been running apprenticeship programmes to train artists and engineers.

The new media industries, which include game developers, animators and other related digital specialists, are projected to generate 10,000 jobs and more than S$10bn in value by 2015.

These developments bode well for Singapore, as they provide a silver lining to an otherwise grim job market, which has seen lay-offs and hiring freezes as a result of the global slowdown.

Lee Boon Yang, minister of information, communications and the arts (MICA) made the case at a recent media event.

“Despite the recession and retrenchments, demand for creative talent remains robust, with companies still on the lookout for good staff,” he said

Policymakers say there are plenty of opportunities for those seeking a career in the media. In the near term, 300 skilled jobs and more than 400 apprenticeships are on offer within the creative industries.

Another 450 jobs will come over the next one to two years for start-ups within the interactive and digital media sector.

Moreover, up to 6,000 individuals are expected to receive media training this year.

Christopher Chia, chief executive of the Media Development Authority (MDA), says: “The whole idea is really a continuum of skills, from very experienced people who need to upgrade to people thinking of moving into the sector.

“So it’s a matter of conversion skills as well.”

In spite of the promising opportunities in the media, the tough economic climate has put a damper on business ventures. Increasingly risk-averse investors, for instance, have become less willing to finance media projects.

This has prompted policymakers to intervene to stimulate the market. The government announced last month that it would provide an unprecedented S$250m to help promising local media companies, such as documentary producers, music groups and video game developers, fund their projects.

The amount, which is much larger than the S$180m injected last year, underscores the commitment by the authorities to sustain the media sector amid the economic downturn, explains the MDA.

The authorities hope the cash injection will offset the expected dip in revenue faced over the next year or two.

The money would be used to co-fund 200 to 300 new projects over the course of the year, with the aim of creating 2,000 jobs and strengthening the industry.

Under the scheme, smaller high-risk research and development ideas could receive outright grants. For large-scale productions such as feature films, the government will co-invest and share in the receipts if the production makes money.

Financing aside, the MDA is also facilitating efforts to help the media industry in other ways, from holding training workshops to matchmaking film producers with suitable foreign film distributors.

Unlike other export-oriented industries, such as manufacturing and retail, whose fortunes are closely tied to the volatility and fluctuations of the global economy, Singapore’s media sector has been a source of steady growth. The sector has expanded from S$3.8bn in 2002 to an estimated S$5.28bn in 2008.

Compound annual growth from 1996 to 2006 was 8 per cent, against 5.2 per cent for the overall economy, according to the MDA. The sector employs almost 60,000 people.

Perhaps more importantly, the government initiatives are reflective of Singapore’s aim to rely less on conventional sectors. Developing new engines of growth bolsters against downturns.

In these difficult times, the media sector is a bright spot in a gloomy job market.

Source: Financial Times

Inspiring Innovation
Fueling the Future of Media

We are launching the “Future of Media” Initiative to catalyse growth in the interactive digital media (IDM) sector. In 2009, we are including Future Mobile, Future Games, Future TV, Future Worlds and Future Books.

The vision of Future of Media is to pull together companies and combine collectively their user base, distribution networks, development platforms and marketing/ promotion resources with a common goal of accelerating the path to global market and success. Under each Future area, a Partner Network will serve to form a compelling platform for other companies to experiment and commercialise their offerings.

Partner Network

We aim to build a self sustaining mini ecosystem by clustering start-ups, small & medium enterprises and key anchor companies in each of the five areas (cluster called “Partner Networks”). Each Partner Network is encouraged to evolve its own developments based on commercial needs and interests. Companies can benefit from being part of the Partner Network by:

• Synergising to bring about the best of breed offerings;
• Leveraging on one another’s customer base, market access and partners;
• Harnessing one another’s capabilities;
• Inspiring and facilitating innovation; and
• Jointly make Calls for Proposals.

Our Support

Through industry feedback, we understand that companies in this sector face industry challenges in the areas of access to global markets, fragmented local demand, scale and access to funding. We will provide support to fuel growth of this sector through facilitating partnership opportunities for our local companies and match making them with other like-minded industry players:

Projects arising from Partner Networks in these five areas could tap on existing funding schemes for support.

Call for Participation

We are calling for participation in each of the 5 Future areas. Companies which are interested to respond to this Call for Participation may indicate their interest by sending an email to MDA_IMG@mda.gov.sg.

Announcements for Call for Proposals
Future Mobile, Future Games and Future Worlds are announcing Calls for Proposals. The details of each Call will be announced to the industry in April 2009 with a 2 month submission period. Proposals will be jointly evaluated by IDMPO and our network partners.

Please refer to sections behind for more information on each area of the Future of Media.

• FutureBooks
• FutureGames
• FutureMobile
• FutureTV
• FutureWorlds

IDMPO FUNDED COMPANIES IN THE PRESS

A few IDMPO funded companies have garnered interest from the public recently.

Personal e-Motion

Personal e-Motion was featured in The Straits Times because its key product KooBits, has caught on like wildfire in schools here and overseas. Three years ago, only four schools here used it; that number has now grown to 80. About 80,000 budding writers in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and China are users.

The program’s appeal lies in its host of easy-to-use multimedia features, said teachers and students. KooBits is now used in schools not only to teach English, but also science, mother tongue and mathematics.

Read Full Article

MXR Corporation

MXR Corporation was also recently featured for wIzQubesTM, a 3D Interactive Mixed Reality Storytelling product which completely revolutionizes the way children read today. The patent-pending technology has won several awards and received press attention worldwide.

MXR has also confirmed a deal with Sanrio Digital to bring HelloKitty into Mixed Reality. Their first demo has been shown at GDC2009 which has received a lot of interests.

Read Full Article

NRF Research Fellowship 2009

The Singapore National Research Foundation (NRF) invites brilliant, young researchers who are ready for their first independent research appointments to apply for the prestigious NRF Research Fellowship Awards.

Are you among the best in your research field?
Are you ready to lead your first independent research team?

Join the ranks of the elite NRF Research Fellows!

Apply now if you have a PhD degree from a reputable university and work at the forefront of research in your field. A prior post-doctoral stint at a renowned university or research organisation would be a great advantage.

The NRF Research Fellowship provides:

• Complete freedom and independence to pursue your research direction in Singapore
• A 3-year research grant of up to US$1.5 million, with a possible extension for another 3 years
• A competitive salary
• The opportunity for joint appointment at the host university or research institution
• Freedom to select the host institution in Singapore

The NRF Research Fellowship is open to all talented scientists and researchers under the age of 40 years at the date of application, and within 10 years post-PhD. We welcome research in all disciplines of science and technology.

Please apply online at the following web-link before 06 Sep 2009:
https://rita.nrf.gov.sg/NRF_RF_2009/default.aspx

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to Singapore to present their research work, meet local researchers and identify potential collaborators and host research organisations. Final selection for the awards will be made by the NRF Scientific Advisory Board co-chaired by Dr Curtis Carlson (President & CEO of SRI International) and Prof. Ulrich Suter (Professor of Polymer Materials, ETH Zurich).

KooBits, as it is called, has caught on like wildfire in schools here and overseas. Three years ago, only four schools here used it; that number has now grown to 80. About 80,000 budding writers in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and China are users.

The program’s appeal lies in its host of easy-to-use multimedia features, said teachers and students.

Students write stories and illustrate these by picking from a gallery of licensed clip-art images. A patented technology enables them to animate the images by keying in commands, so they do not need to know how to use the more-complex Adobe Flash animation software.

KooBits came about as a by-product of an unrelated project in 2004 among then electrical engineering undergraduate Stanley Han, computer engineering researcher Chen Xiangdong, and robotics professor Sam Ge.

They were then creating a computer program to teach people how to dance. The project did not pan out, said Mr Han, 28, who graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2005, but it did leave the trio with one takeaway – that many people were deterred from creating digital content because it was too difficult.

The idea for KooBits came to them when they were introduced in 2005 to a group of teachers in charge of information and communications technology (ICT) in their respective primary schools.

One of them, Mr Melvin Yeoh, Ahmad Ibrahim Primary’s ICT head of department, said: ‘I believe we can encourage weaker pupils to like writing if they can create e-books with pictures and animation.

‘But the software available cost thousands of dollars and were complicated to use. It was very disheartening.’

The teachers were looking for a ‘one-stop’ program that would enable pupils to create multimedia content easily, said Mr Han, a Chinese national and Singapore permanent resident. ‘We thought, ‘Hey, we could do that.”

The rest is history.

KooBits’ founders put $30,000 into their new baby, which has since grown into a $5 million company, Personal e-Motion, which owns KooBits.

Plans are afoot to introduce the program – which costs $50 for the basic version and $100 for the premium one – to more schools in China this year, and to the United States next year.

The program has also received a nod from the Media Development Authority, which came this year in the form of a grant to offset its development and marketing costs. KooBits and four other new media projects got a total of $7.6 million.

KooBits is now used in schools not only to teach English, but also science, mother tongue and mathematics.

An inter-school contest for students’ KooBits-created e-books, organised by the NUS and Hwa Chong Institution, is already in its second year.

The versatility of the program and the pride of becoming published authors keep users coming back for more.

Primary 6 pupil Bani Muhamad Iyad from Eunos Primary School has written about 10 books since he started using KooBits two years ago.

The 12-year-old said: ‘It is fun writing the stories. There are many pictures to choose from and I can shoot my own videos. I want to write as many stories as possible and share them with all my friends.’

Bani Muhamad Iyad, Eunos Primary School

http://www.koobits.com/library/category.aspx?type=Books&search=bani_author

http://www.koobits.com/library/detail.aspx?Type=Books&ID=367

Ryan Noel Bangras, De La Salle School

http://www.koobits.com/library/category.aspx?type=books&search=rnbang

http://www.koobits.com/library/detail.aspx?Type=Books&ID=487 (That’s his only book, and many more chapters to come!)

Lorraine Ge, Nan Hua Primary School

http://www.koobits.com/library/category.aspx?type=books&search=lollygirl

http://www.koobits.com/library/detail.aspx?Type=Books&ID=476

Abdul Qadir Juilani,Eunos Primary School
http://www.koobits.com/library/category.aspx?type=Books&search=qadir
http://www.koobits.com/library/detail.aspx?Type=Books&ID=488

Tommy Tan, Ahmad Ibrahim Primary School

http://www.koobits.com/library/category.aspx?type=Books&search=tommy%20tan

http://www.koobits.com/library/detail.aspx?Type=Books&ID=462

This article was first published in The Straits Times.

Yesterday, the Media Development Authority (MDA) announced that it had committed the amount to help ‘sustain the growth of Singapore’s media sector amid the economic downturn’.

Last year, the authority injected $180 million into the sector.

The money, said the agency’s chief executive Christopher Chia, will be used to co-fund between 200 and 300 new projects over the course of the year, with the aim of creating some 2,000 new media jobs and strengthening Singapore’s burgeoning media industry.

The media sector has enjoyed steady growth of 8 per cent between 1996 and 2006, outpacing the economy’s 5.2 per cent growth. It generated an estimated $20 billion in revenue last year and currently employs some 58,000 people.

The downturn, though, has put a dampener on the sector, said Dr Chia, speaking at the third annual Media Business Forum, held at the high-tech business park Fusionopolis. Increasingly risk-averse investors, for instance, have become less willing to put money into media projects. This prompted the MDA to step in, to help ensure there is work for promising media firms, and that they have enough cash to develop and produce new projects and export them overseas.

Yesterday, it asked media firms to submit proposals for public service programmes that promote values like racial harmony and volunteerism; for TV products that could be given new life as video games or films; and for projects to develop and distribute Singapore’s music worldwide.

Smaller, high-risk research and development-related ideas could receive outright grants. For large-scale productions like feature films, the Government will co-invest and share in the receipts if the production makes money.

The MDA will also release submission details for interactive digital media projects like video games and online television later this year.

Financing aside, it is also facilitating efforts to help the media industry in other ways, from holding training workshops to matchmaking film producers with suitable foreign film distributors, said Dr Chia.

Source: The Straits Times

Progress of Singapore’s media sector
Singapore’s media sector has enjoyed steady growth since the industry’s national blueprint Media 21 was unveiled. As at 2006, the media sector1 contributed $5 billion value-added and $19.5 billion revenue to the economy, employing 54,700 workers.

The compounded annual growth rate of the media sector from 1996 to 2006 was 8.0%, higher than 5.2% for the overall economy.

Recognising the growth prospects of the sector, the Government announced in Parliament last month that it will set aside $230 million over five years under the Singapore Media Fusion plan to develop the local media industry, representing a 40% increase in funding from the previous Media 21 blueprint. That is on top of existing NRF support of $500 million over five years for interactive digital media
research and development.

Said Dr Christopher Chia, MDA’s Chief Executive Officer, “For the coming year and beyond, MDA will focus on funding and developing high-value and exportable content and applications, with an emphasis on helping Singapore companies to leverage digital media and adopt a 360° approach to exploit original intellectual properties across multiple platforms and formats. To this end, we will issue major calls for proposals throughout the year across TV, film, publishing, music, interactive media
and games, aimed at stimulating a strong pipeline of projects for local media companies.

“Alongside efforts to boost industry activity are stepped up capability development initiatives to train manpower and match talents to projects, that will help to prepare the media sector for the upturn.”
Stimulating a strong pipeline of projects Leading the first wave of project calls at today’s Media Business Forum was the request for innovative public service programmes that can travel across platforms and borders. In a separate call under its “360° TV” initiative to build brands and franchises around media properties, MDA requested for original TV concepts that leverage various digital media distribution avenues and partnerships. Both calls are expected to result in more TV content produced out of Singapore. This year, MDA aims to support 2,380 hours of broadcast content, 200 hours more than the previous year.

Recognising the potential of the music industry as a platform for the development of local talents, as well as a springboard for creative and business enhancements across broadcast, animation, film and games, a call was also initiated for proposals to transform Singapore into a digital music hub, build the music ecosystem and develop music services to support content productions.

Establishing strategic networks
To galvanise the industry to secure a foothold in niche sub-sectors of the emerging new media arena, MDA today launched a “Future of Media” initiative that aims to form five partner networks for companies to share resources, collaborate, experiment and innovate. The partner networks are Future Mobile, Future Games, Future TV, Future Worlds and Future Books. Each partner network aims to cluster between 50 to 100 companies, ranging from start-ups, small and medium enterprises and anchor companies. MDA will provide support in the form of industry contacts, matchmaking and co-funding the call for proposals.

To kick off the initiative, some 20 companies, including Friendster, G Element, Mozat, QALA Singapore, SingTel and Sun Microsystems, are joining MDA in calling for proposals. The calls will collate the business requirements and demands of technology and innovative applications of these companies, and provide the industry with a network of user base, distribution networks and development platforms for industry members to leverage. For example, SingTel, Mozat and Friendster combined can provide start-ups with access to potentially hundreds of millions of users.

Training and upgrading media manpower
To sharpen the competitive edge of Singapore’s media industry, MDA is working with Workforce Development Authority and the industry on programmes to train and upgrade media manpower, leveraging initiatives such as Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) and Professional Conversion Programme (PCP). MDA will commit $6 million to fund the slate of manpower programmes, which is expected to benefit 6,000 media talents this year.

A new programme – Media Training & Attachment (META) – will give global exposure and work opportunities to local talents and media professionals by matching, and upgrading their skills where needed, to projects and companies with corresponding needs. MDA will co-fund such attachments to both local and overseas companies. An estimated 150 talents will benefit from META this year.

In addition, the revamped Singapore Media Fusion industry portal (www.smf.sg) will incorporate a bulletin board that allows organisations that are hiring, to post their manpower or resource requirements. Individuals can also upload their CVs for prospective employers to assess for a better job match.

“Our slate of initiatives is aimed at saving and creating jobs, and also maintaining a strong pipeline of projects through an increased investment in the media sector. By enhancing the media sector’s digital value proposition and increasing efforts in capability development, we hope to strengthen the foundation for growth,“ said Dr Chia.

Four IDMPO funded companies were recently featured in Digital Life for their unique and viable business models, and who have been gaining traction (in terms of profit and user outreach) through social networking platforms such as Facebook, Friendster, Second Life and so on. The four companies profiled were iHipo (international internships), Fresbo (multi-player game), First Meta (Second Life commerce) and Tyler Projects (multi-player game).
Here is the full story

Five New Media Projects set to draw $70m Investments and 300 Jobs
Singapore’s Media Development Authority (MDA) has awarded five new media projects, worth S$7.6 million (US$5.1 million), to help propel local companies with new media services and businesses into the global market.

The five projects, selected from 26 proposals first called for in September 2008, range from development of games to media-rich learning, and is also expected to create 300 new jobs in the local media sector while helping generate some S$70 million in investment for the local media sector.
“Our support will help the companies scale up their international exposure significantly. These projects will in turn support some 200 companies to help build the new media ecosystem,” said Michael Yap (pictured), deputy CEO of the MDA.

Eric Berthier, CEO of Popular e-Learning Holdings, added: “Our initiatives will serve as the leading regional portals for Singapore’s education service providers, media owners and other media service providers. Our partners will have a ready reach to markets in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.”
“In light of the present economic climate, the funding from MDA will help defray some of the business risks associated with these new media initiatives and allow Popular to be more ambitious in our development and marketing regionally,” he added.

Tom Navasero, executive chairman of Glocal, said: “The presence of Glocal in Singapore will provide the new media industry the opportunity to find a marketplace for their content to be accessible to over 20 million viewers worldwide in key media markets such as United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, France and the Middle East.”

Qrodo Ranked Top 5 at Euro Venture Summit

Qrodo (68technologies), one of IDMPO’s funded company, was ranked top 5 in the Internet technology category, at the Euro Venture Summit. The European Venture Summit offers entrepreneurs from Biotech & Industrial Biotech, ICT and New Energies the opportunity to grow their businesses across borders by facilitating contacts to an experienced and international network of venture capital and corporate investors, strategic partners and expert advisers.

Out of 100 global companies evaluated by an international advisory Board of industry experts and a group of leading international venture capitalists, investors, international business executives & prestigious experts in their field. Qrodo was ranked top 5 and faired well over average on all aspects reviewed, especially business potential.

S’pore online advertising grew 33.7% in 2008

Singapore’s online advertising industry is seeing a growing number of large brand advertisers coming in, resulting in the market growing by 33.7 per cent to US$190 million in 2008.
Research by Frost & Sullivan shows that the republic’s online advertising market, which was worth US$142.1 million in 2007 will grow at CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 19.5 per cent till 2013 to reach US$413.5 million.

The Internet has become a mainstream source for the supply and search of ‘infotainment’ content; its biggest enthusiast – the youths. Advertisers and media agencies alike are cashing in on this.
In Singapore, paid search advertising accounted for 44 per cent (US$62.5 million) of online advertising revenues in 2007.

This segment is expected to continue growing at a CAGR of 22.1 per cent between 2008 and 2013.
Display advertising was the second biggest segment accounting for 25 per cent (US$35.5 million) of revenues, with banner advertisement and e-mail marketing being the two most popular forms of display ads.

Online classifieds accounted for 19 per cent (US$27 million) of the total revenues in 2007.

2009 National Science & Technology Awards Call for Nomination Now Open!

The National Science and Technology Awards Committee invites you to nominate deserving scientists and engineers for the prestigious National Science and Technology Award (NSTA).
The Awards are the highest honours Singapore confers on individuals and teams who have made outstanding contributions to science and technology in Singapore. Since the Awards’ inception in 1987, 132 individuals and teams have been conferred the prestigious awards.
The nominations are open from now until 3 March 2009. Nominees will have until 8 March 2009 to register and submit their project details. The Awards Presentation Ceremony will be held in September 2009.

More information is at www.a-star.edu.sg/nsta