Dundee's computer games industry has a vital role to play in the future growth and success of Scotland's economy, a leading academic argued Monday (25 March 2002).

Professor Peter Astheimer, Director of IC CAVE, will give a lecture entitled "Innovation in Entertainment from a Dundee Perspective", to mark his appointment as Professor of Virtual Reality.

The lecture was delivered to a large audience of industry professionals, academics, students and members of the public.

The lecture examined the growing numbers of blockbuster game developers in the UK, and discussed the pivotal role of Scotland and Dundee as leaders of this global industry, in the light of possible future trends.

Professor Astheimer said: "The computer games and electronic entertainment industry was worth £1.6 billion last year in the UK alone - more than cinema or video rental. At present, Scotland commands a large proportion of that - and it is essential, in order to encourage the creation of both jobs and wealth - that we work hard to reap the ongoing benefits of the games industry."

In his lecture, Professor Astheimer aimed to inspire entrepreneurial thinking, by providing a vision for the local economy and people across Dundee and Scotland.

The lecture also focus on the significant technology breakthroughs which trigger major innovations and business opportunities, and give a critical analysis of the industry in the light of market forces.

Abertay University's IC CAVE facility, directed by Professor Astheimer, is a world-leading computer games and digital entertainment research unit, providing invaluable facilities and expertise for the analysis of both market trends and new games.

The lecture comes just days after projects at IC CAVE were awarded almost a quarter of a million pounds for research into computer games software, enabling Dundee and Scotland to remain at the forefront of cutting-edge games design.