Korean Government Backs National Webcasting Industry

Korea's Ministry of Information and Communication has said it will provide $44 million to help kick-start the development of a strong Webcasting industry in Korea. The Ministry says the money will be provided over five years and is aimed at boosting the infrastructure needed for Net broadcasting, localizing the production of Webcasting software and hardware, and to support local content development. The Korean Government aims to make Webcasting into a "leading next-generation IT industry" exporting content to the value of $1 billion by 2005. According to the government department, there are now more than 1,400 Internet broadcasting players in Korea. The nation also has the highest broadband Internet penetration in the world.