A Brighton-based computer games specialist has ploughed £100,000 into its hand-held division.

Babel Media, which tests games for Nokia and Sony Ericsson, has invested in personnel, training and equipment.

The company, based in Fonthill Road, Hove, helps operators competing in a fierce market get their product on the shelves quicker.

It employs 50 people, carrying out exhaustive testing on games and making them adaptable for hand sets.

Managing director Algy Williams said: "The time it takes to get games on to the market is absolutely key for mobile applications.

"Our investment and breadth of service means content providers, publishers and operators can benefit from an end-to-end approach."

According to analysts ARC, revenue from global mobile games will rise to £4.4 billion by 2008.

Babel's move into mobile games testing came at the beginning of 2002.

It has since become a one of the world's leading specialists.

Monday February 16, 2004