2008 Digital Games' Global Videogaming Tournament to Culminate in Shanghai at Official 2008 Olympic Games Welcome Event

China Internet Gaming Organizing Committee (CIG) and GGL Global Gaming Sign Pact to Host Global Videogame Tournament

Amateur Gamers and Fans can immediately get more information at www.GGL.com

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- February 19, 2008 -- In a move that will start a new chapter in videogame history, GGL Global Gaming today announced that it has signed an agreement with the China Internet Gaming Organizing Committee (CIG) to launch The Digital Games. Under the Our Olympic Series of Large Scale Cultural Activities, GGL has been appointed the official partner and co-producer for making videogames an official “Welcome Event” of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. The appointment was made by the 8 branches of the China Government that comprise the Beijing Olympic Welcome Events committee; known as “Our Olympic Organizing Committee” (OOOC) which is supervised by The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

Gamers of all skill levels will compete for the opportunity to represent their country in a global tournament celebrating videogames, the “2008 Digital Games”. The tournament will culminate with a Grand Finals event held in Shanghai (Home of Olympic Soccer).

GGL, the leading media company dedicated to expanding and delivering the culture of videogames to a worldwide audience, will host a series of official amateur online qualifying tournaments around the globe, across multiple gaming genres and platforms. GGL will also hold invitational competitions for professional and celebrity gamers – who will also face off at the welcome events hosted by the China Government leading into the Digital Games Shanghai finals.

“The China Internet Gaming Organizing Committee is proud to be the first in digital sports history to recognize videogames as a competitive sport, and we are pleased to be working with GGL to elevate videogames – the 99th Official Sport of China – to the world stage,” said Fong Hong, Honorary General Secretary of the China Internet Gaming Organizing Committee. “Because of GGL’s global reach, content and community, brand recognition, technical capabilities, tournament expertise, strong ties with the gamer community and a rapidly growing Chinese presence, it was a natural fit when deciding who would be the perfect partner for this event.”

“GGL is thrilled to partner with CIG and host a first-of-its-kind videogame tournament to elevate the culture of gaming to a world stage around the 2008 Summer Olympics in China,” said Ted Owen, Founder and Chairman, GGL Global Gaming. “The Golden Age of videogames is here, and the ‘2008 Digital Games’ are the galvanizing moment that will both celebrate and legitimize the culture. Not only are videogames the fastest growing mainstream form of entertainment in the world, they are quickly becoming a part of our culture and this is a natural way to embrace and celebrate this among this hard to reach younger demographic.”

Gamers who would like to compete for a chance to represent their country can register at www.ggl.com. Qualifying tournaments will continue through the summer and take place across a variety of gaming genres – such as first-person shooters, sports, real-time strategy, action-adventure and puzzle games. Top players will compete in a series of matches where the winner will earn a seat on their country’s first Digital Games team.

At the end of the qualifying tournaments, the top players from each country will face off in Shanghai. GGL, CIG and OOOC selected Shanghai as the host city for the videogame tournament to take advantage of the large expected media and spectator turnout for the Olympic soccer matches and other medal events to be held there at the same time.

“Videogames have become an incredibly popular form of mainstream entertainment throughout the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world. They are an established and accepted part of the region’s culture, and in many cases the top players enjoy the same recognition and status as today’s top sports athletes,” said Fong Hong. “For this reason, it was appropriate that the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing embrace the idea of making videogames an official Welcome Event, with the hope that our vision will set the stage for similar events at future Olympic Games.”

GGL is the world’s leading social networking destination for the global community of videogame enthusiasts, and is filling a much-needed void in the industry through its unique brand of gaming focused programming and sports and celebrity leagues. GGL’s unique social networking platform caters to players’ varied competition needs, bringing together enthusiasts from all walks of life including amateurs, professionals, celebrities and sports stars.

About GGL Global Gaming

GGL is a worldwide leader in videogame competition, community and coverage. With 10 million unique visits per month, GGL is the top destination for the global community of videogame enthusiasts and its culture. Via the company's unique social gaming network platform, GGL caters to gaming’s varied competition needs, and broad array of video content that fills a much-needed void in the entertainment space. Through these offerings, GGL creates an immersive entertainment experience for a rapidly growing community of connected gamers. For more information, visit www.ggl.com.

About China Internet Gaming Organizing Committee (CIG)

CIG is a comprehensive activity launched by the Ministry of Information Industry, supported by all telecommunication operators, and organized by PPTNA (group) under the MII and China Internet Association and its content includes online games, exhibition, forum, and summit meetings. CIG is launched in a style popular in communities and provides an open, interactive, promotional, cooperative and win-win platform for governmental departments and industry associations as well as operators and mass consumers. CIG is a national Internet gaming with the highest level, most famous participators and widest range in China. It, serving the electronic gaming concepts, healthy and intellectual spirits, Internet gaming alliance co-construction as the tenet, endeavors to standardize the online games market, build the “state” Internet gaming trademarks, establish the “Oscar Award” in Chinese Internet gaming industry—Golden Finger Award, and then facilitate the prosperity and development in Internet gaming industry climate. Due to the successful holding of CIG 2002, CIG 2003, CIG 2004, CIG 2006 and CIG 2006, GIG will be opened regularly each year. CIG, continuing to persist in the tenet of “open, cooperative, mutual beneficial and double win” and the digital entertainment concepts of “green games and healthy life”, will contribute to the healthy and harmonious development of the digital entertainment industry in China which takes the net games as the core. CIG also concerns the public welfare and would like to contribute to propagandize the hi-tech Olympics, people's Olympics on the basis of the expertise in the digital entertainment field and the wide influence in the youth and by means of the digital Olympics.

About OOOC

In order to facilitate the requirement that each Host City put on a series of cultural events leading up to the Olympic Games in Beijing; the China Government authorized the formation of a committee to host a “series of large scale cultural events”. Officially known as the “<Our Olympic> Series of Large Scale Cultural Activities Organizing Committee,” (OOOC) it is charged with organizing and selecting vendors to produce these cultural events. OOOC is comprised of a variety of branches of the China Government; including, All China Federation of Trade Unions; All-China Women’s Federation; China Federation of Literary and Art Circles; Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries; the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce; the All-China Youth Federation; and the Chinese Overseas Friendship Association.

Posted by GGL Admin on Feb 19 2008 4:44PM

 GGL-Youngstone wrote on Feb 20 2008 2:05AM

 Roro wrote on Feb 21 2008 7:55PM

 MywayR wrote on Feb 22 2008 12:09AM

 Blackrobe wrote on Feb 25 2008 8:03PM

 eQ_SoulHunter wrote on Feb 26 2008 9:51AM