BOMBAY India's software industry is counting on the country's rich heritage of epic myths and legends to provide fantastic inspiration for its computer game developers.

More than half of all computer games are now being produced in the United States, Canada and Britain, while Japan accounts for some 12 percent of output.

But India's software industry, which has already developed a reputation for programming skills, does not intend to be sidelined and has just made its first move into the global interactive gaming market.

Madras-based Pentamedia Graphics Ltd, which has carved itself a niche in making computer animation films and entertainment, has invested $4.0 million in Purple Drop Inc., a Silicon Valley startup which will help its army of engineers serve the gaming industry and develop games based on its films.

------------ Is India Ready to Play? ----------------

"I think so," said Ashok Desai, founder and chief executive of Purple Drop and a former India chief of Silicon Graphics Inc., which makes graphics-heavy computers used by Hollywood and defense research laboratories.

The combined market of the United States and Europe in gaming, now around $6 billion is expected to grow to $14 billion in about four years, Desai said.

India faced some hurdles -- low PC penetration, the possibility of piracy and the general perception of games as an unproductive activity.

But it also had an advantage in its rich tradition of mythology, Desai said.

"We have a cultural heritage that few can match," he said.

Purple Drop has been given the rights to make games out of Pentamedia's animation films, Pandavas, based on the five princes at the center of India's ancient epic, the Mahabharata, and Sinbad, based on the legendary Arabian nights tale.

--------------- Off the Radar Screen ----------------

India's software industry has annual exports of around $6 billion and nearly 20 percent of the global market share in customized software but is nowhere in the picture when it comes to games.

"India is not even on the radar screen today. We can change that," Desai told a seminar at the annual conference of the National Association of Software and Service Companies, (NASSCOM) 2001.

Desai's company will form a marketing and strategic gateway to the West for Pentamedia and aims to provide technology services for game developers, software to enable games on rival platforms and eventually to develop its own gaming engine.

Playing consoles now account for around $5 billion in software revenue globally and personal computers around $2 billion. But PC revenues will stagnate over the next four years, while consoles will grow to nearly $10 billion, he said.

On-line games over broadband Internet are also poised to grow sharply. (Reuter)