Six Sussex companies have made huge strides at Milia 2000, the annual interactive content marketplace.

Held in Cannes in the South of France recently, the exhibition showcased what the future holds for the Internet, interactive TV, games and broadband access.

The event, now in its seventh year, attracted more than 900 exhibitors and 7,000 delegates from around the world.

Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Microsoft, Disney and Sony were Victoria Real, Babel Media, Workhouse, Wide Games, diarymanager.com and JWM Creative.

These six companies were brought together under the British Innovation banner by Wired Sussex, a subsidary of Sussex Enterprise that encourages investment in new media.

Jason George, creative director at Victoria Real, was upbeat, but realistic about the event. His company's core business is Interactive TV - one of the major themes at Milia this year.

"We discussed ideas with a range of our existing contacts - such as Channel 4, Freeserve, and the BBC - and have even formulated plans to open our first overseas office, based on a potential joint venture with one of our clients.

However high the profile of Sussex companies, no show is complete without a superstar and at this year's Milia 2000 he came in the shape of Brazilian footballer Ronaldo.

The striker and his entourage swept into Cannes to promote a sports action game for the Playstation console. This is a field that Wide Games specialise in. Based in Brighton, the company is a video game development studio that works on games and technology for Playstation and other games machines.

Carl Jones, executive producer at Wide Games believes that you don't have to be a huge company to compete in games publishing.

"As a PR exercise, Milia was a great success with a general buzz around the show of interest in Wide Games, showing that even small companies can compete with the larger entities,' he said.

"Our objective was to meet the world's largest games publishers, and other parties interested in games content. Links were also made with Microsoft, who will soon make an announcement of great relevance to the games industry and showed a great deal of interest in our game engine Atlas."

Babel Media is another Sussex company that works in interactive entertainment industries. Its client list includes major players such as Microsoft, Hasbro Interactive, Electronic Arts, Eidos, Havas, SCi and Konami Amusement and its expertise lies in games and the Internet.

Ben Wibberley, general manager of Babel Media said: "Milia was extremely useful for us as the show provided not only a European, but global focus on content provision and services. During the show we were able to meet with established clients such as Eidos and Hasbro. We also met up with a number of prospective new clients and secured various commitments."

But success was not limited to interactive TV and games. diarymanager.com is based in Sussex and dedicated to the development and design of Internet diary applications. It works with Internet Service Providers to provide their users with an online, fully integrated diary management service.

Paul Dickinson, director at diarymanager.com, made many contacts, but also enjoyed the other delights of the South of France.

"During the week we entertained Freeserve, had lengthy discussions with American Interactive TV moguls Open TV, and indulged our clients from Cable and Wireless Communications. We returned to Brighton loaded down with business cards, hangovers and a number of exciting potential partnerships to pursue."

As for Wired Sussex, who hosted meetings on a specially chartered yacht in Cannes harbour, Milia 2000 represented something of a triumph.

At a party on the yacht, representatives from Freeserve, Cable and Wireless, BBC Broadcast, VIS Interactive, the Department of Trade and Industry, BSkyB, and even the British Embassy and Quebec government attended.

Emily Aitken, Wired Sussex project manager of the event said: "Milia is the most important digital fair in Europe. We were pleased to offer Sussex companies the opportunity to attend the show under the unified banner of British Innovation."

As Sussex, and especially Brighton continues to make a name as Britain's answer to California's Silicon Valley, such events can only cement its reputation. The message is loud and clear. Sussex is the place to be.

Wired Sussex

Victoria Real

diarymanager.com

Wide Games

Babel Media

JWM Creative

Workhouse

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.