Five of the 10 most popular online games in China are all original editions with typical Chinese characteristics, according to a 2005 Internet survey of 200,000 game players.

The survey outcome released at the 2005 Chinese PC Game Industry Conference held recently in the east China city of Xiamen suggested that the domestic market share for home-grown online games is over 60 percent. More than ten games are exported to East Asian and Western markets.

The survey, which was published on 18 gaming industry media and 47 leading gaming websites, had garnered more than 200,000 responses by the end of 2005.

China's online game industry has evolved from being reliant on foreign games to developing games with full domestic intellectual property rights, conference experts said.

Chinese game programmers developed 192 varieties of online game in 2005, an increase of 76 percent on the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of game developers rose to 12,600, three times the figure for 2004, according to conference statistics.

"Innovation, a key factor in allowing Chinese online game developers to compete in the world market, helps spread Chinese culture," said Kou Xiaowei, a senior official with the State Press and Publication Administration at the conference.

Source: Xinhua