There are 200 digital cinemas in the world. China has 57, ranking the second in the world following the United States, according to Jiang Defu, deputy general manager of China Digital Film Company.

By the end of this year, there will be 166 digital cinemas in China, and the number of digital cinemas in the country is expected to reach 1,000 within a few years, outnumbering those in the United States, Jiang predicted.

Last year, 20 digital movies were screened in the country and earned almost 30 million yuan (about US$3.61 million).

"Digital films can help increase China's competitiveness in international market, regularize the domestic film industry and curb piracy," he said.

The cost of making, distributing and screening digital movies is almost 90 percent less than traditional films, but their profits can be double, according to Jiang.

Although the government has made it a strategy to develop digital movies, there are only two or three domestic companies that can make digital movies. It seems that Chinese are still not that interested, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 20, 2004)