SHANGHAI, June 8 (Reuters) - Nasdaq-listed Shanda, China's largest online gaming operator, and Intel Corp (NasdaqNM:INTC - News) have signed an agreement to develop digital entertainment software for computers, TVs and cellphones, the companies said on Tuesday.
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Shanda, listed on Nasdaq as Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd (NasdaqNM:SNDA - News), hopes an alliance with top global chipmaker Intel will help it become a global player, the two companies said in a joint statement.
The pair would set up a testing centre to develop software partly focused at the 2.55 billion yuan ($308 million) Chinese online gaming market.
That could leap 65 percent this year and hit 9.4 billion yuan by 2006, according to Internet consultants Shanghai iResearch.
Software developed would be based on Intel chips, according to the statement. "Shanda's goal is to become an interactive entertainment content provider with international influence," said Chen Tianqiao, Shanda's chairman and CEO.
Software developers and tech firms are racing to develop software to power online games, such as those that can be played on mobile phones -- considered the industry's next big thing.
A one-child policy is helping fuel an online gaming boom in China. Consultancy IDC estimates the country would have 54 million gamers by 2008, a large chunk of about 187 million Internet users that same year. Industry experts estimate China had only 14 million gamers in 2003.
Shanda, which draws hundreds of thousands of players at once to games such as "The Legend of Mir II", raised $152.4 million in an initial public offering in May.
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