It was a festival for game players as the country's biggest digital entertainment show opened yesterday in Shanghai. People flooded into the show and even mobile phones were being forgotten or ignored - at this show with so much color, noise and movement even a good connection doesn't always count for much. The stars of the show are no longer devils and angels but heroes in stories about the Three Kingdoms (220-280 AD) period, kungfu novels and Chinese legends.

Chinese game firms talked loudly about self-innovation and overseas expansion.

Game firms, including Perfect World, NetEase.com and The9 Ltd, displayed and promoted games based on home-developed ideas with cultural and historical themes during the China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference, or Chinajoy.

The regulator also warned that imported games have brought some with sexual and violent content and offered unhealthy attitudes to children, such as one-night stands.

Imported games will now face longer waiting times to get government approval to make sure that "improper content" for young people is not permitted, industry insiders said.

The convergence between games and the online community has become a focus for the show. MySpace will provide Web game services to users through its developer platform, a first for the US-based online community Website.

Perfect World

The Beijing-based Perfect World Co displayed home-developed 3D games at the show, including Perfect World, The Legend of Martial Arts and Red Cliff with the historical background of Three Kingdoms.

"We will continue to launch products featuring Chinese culture - they are popular with both Chinese and foreign players," said Chi Yufeng, chairman and chief executive of the Perfect World.

At present, the company's products have been licensed in more than 10 countries or regions, including Japan and Taiwan.

The company has invested heavily and has established a new research facility in Shanghai.