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By Will Sturgeon, 15 January 2004 16:40

NEWS The Isle of Man is hoping to attract techies and software developers to the Irish Sea outpost, and it's starting by courting computer games manufacturers after one such firm located on the island.

IncaGold, a computer games licensing and development company, has recently moved to the Isle of Man. It's given the local government a taste for all things high-tech, even if the quiet island is a far cry from technology hot-beds such as the M4 corridor, Silicon Glen and areas of the South-East such as Guildford in Surrey, which is host to a number of computer games manufacturers.

Tim Craine, the island's director of e-business, told silicon.com there are a whole host of reasons why companies should locate to the Isle of Man despite its remote location.

"The Isle of Man has a long-standing association with technology. We had the UK's first 3G network and we were an early adopter of ADSL. We offer 100 per cent broadband coverage and the government will pay installation costs for any residential or business user to have broadband," said Craine.

"Corporate tax is low, so companies locating here would limit their tax liability and there are generous grants available to companies such as computer games manufacturers," he added.

However, while all the numbers may add up, there is still the issue of geography. While technology has done much to make location a non-issue, history has shown us that companies still tend to cluster in geographically advantageous locations - such as areas close to London, or near major airports.

"Location is important," admitted Craine. "But modern technology is making it less of an issue. In the internet age the Isle of Man is less of an island than it has ever been."

He also cited seven flights per day to three different London airports and an excellent standard of living.

This latter point is important in understanding why high-tech software development is being targeted.

"It's a high-value, low-employee industry. It will bring important investment onto the island without overburdening our infrastructure, such as our schools and our health service," said Craine.