Cyber Athletes Vie for Global Attention

SINGAPORE: A modern version of Olympics is taking

shape now. In the digital age, it is the turn of e-Olympics and the participants

are the new breeds of  'Cyber

Athletes.'  However, the only

difference between them and their regular counterparts who sweat through the

competition in a variety of field games is that all the action at theÂ

'e-Olympics' is on computer screens.

There is no lack of intensity. There are thousands of

spectators, mostly young men and women who have come to cheer their teams, from

countries around the world, just the way it happens in the traditional Olympics.

And the players are playing for the sake of national pride. Over 700 young

“cyber athletes” from 67

countries are pitting their computer gaming skills against each other at the

fifth edition of the World Cyber Games 2005 at the SunTec convention center

here.

After the traditional inaugural ceremony, on 16^th

November, accompanied by hip hop dances by cheer leaders, and a traditional

march past by the 67 national teams with their flags and oath taking ceremony,

the WCG has moved into the top gear.

At stake is total prize money of

$ 430,000 ( approximately Rs 2

crore) and the 700 finalists who had come through grueling competitions in their

respective countries, are pitting their skills at six popular PC-based games:Â

StarCaft: Brood War, WarCraft III: Frozone Throne, CounterStrike: Source,

FIFA Soccer 2005, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and Need for Speec: Underground

2. There are two Xbox Games, Halo 2 and Dead or Alive Ultimate, also in the

competition.

In some ways, the WCG is much bigger than the traditional

Olympics. As Hang Jeong, president and CEO, International Cyber Marketing

Inc, the organizer, pointed out, these 700 finalists were picked from over 1.25

million participants at the national levels, over grueling sessions beginning

last February.

The average age of the finalists is 20 years old. The

oldest player in the competition is Lajos Hegedus, 39, from Hungary. The

youngest participant was three-year-old Amin Golnam from Iran. He didn't make

it to the finals but has been flown in specially for the event by the organizers

and is a star attraction at the venue.

WCG started in a small way in 2000 in South Korea, where

computer gaming is a big craze. Just 10,000 players from around the world took

part in the preliminary rounds in 17 countries and the final was held in

Everland, Korea on October 2000. The event was confined to Korea for the next

three years.

However, the marketing opportunities were spotted by others

and after an intensive bidding process, San Francisco hosted it in 2004.

Singapore managed to get it in 2005. “ We got it after a lot of hard work over

the past 30 months, “ confided  Chan Yeng Kit, CEO, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore.

Singapore has sensed the potential of the emerging field of

cyber games. “ We are keen to develop Singapore as a gaming hub for the region

and attract game developers to come to the country in a big way,” commented Dr

Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's Minister for Community Development, Youth and

Sport and Second Minister for Trade and Industry.

Realizing the importance, Singapore government has rolled

out the red carpet for the WCG 2005.  SingTel

is a key sponsor. The Economic Development Board , the Media Development

Authority, Singapore Tourism Board, Singapore Sports Councils have pitched in to

make it a successful event. The tourism sector in Singapore is expected to

benefit by more than $ 50 million ( Rs 140 crore) by the spending of the

players, spectators and over 400 journalists form 67 participating countries.