It was announced today that NCSoft, makers of MMOs such as City of Heroes , Tabula Rasa and Guild Wars , have agreed to be official sponsors at this year's Edinburgh Interactive Festival in Scotland.

Monday 4th August/... The Edinburgh Interactive Festival today announced two new partnerships for this year's event. NCsoft® Europe and Scottish Enterprise are the latest in an impressive roster of sponsors to confirm their support for the three-day public event and conference which takes place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre between Sunday 10th and Tuesday 12th August 2008.

Scottish Enterprise, a company that supports business growth and helps develop Scotland's business environment by working with ambitious companies and industries, has confirmed today that it will be sponsoring the prestigious VIP Dinner which takes place on Sunday 10th August at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

Adrian Gillespie, Director of Digital Markets and Enabling Technologies at Scottish Enterprise, said: "Scotland has an excellent reputation for developing innovative video games and Scottish Enterprise has a vested interest in supporting forward thinking and ambitious companies in this key sector. It gives us an enormous amount of pleasure to be sponsoring the VIP Dinner for what is undoubtedly one of the most important events in the video gaming calendar."

Leading online games publisher NCsoft Europe also announced today that, on Monday 11th August, it will be sponsoring lunch at the Dare to be Digital networking event - part of the three-day, public-facing Dare ProtoPlay videogames extravaganza in association with Channel 4 and promoted by The University of Abertay, Dundee. Taking place in at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, invited delegates will be able to mix with nearly 100 students looking to make their mark in the games industry.

Lance Stites, Head of Live Operations at NCsoft Europe, said: "We are delighted to be a part of this year's Edinburgh Interactive Festival and, more specifically, to be sponsoring the Dare to be Digital networking lunch. As NCsoft knows only too well through its own, highly successful apprenticeship scheme, ensuring talented students get to mix with some of the industry's most influential movers and shakers will only help in ensuring that the UK remains at the forefront of games development."

Paul Durrant, Director of Dare to be Digital at the University of Abertay, said: "Bringing the Dare to be Digital contestants and the games industry together is one of the core aims of the competition. The industry is on a constant lookout for talent and ideas while the students need to look for opportunities. The EIF networking lunch can help achieve both ends."

Now celebrating its sixth year, the Edinburgh Interactive Festival is powered up to showcase the continued popularity, growth and influence of video games. And this year, the Interactive Festival is more synchronised with the world famous Edinburgh Festival than ever, appealing to the press, public and professionals from film, television and interactive media backgrounds alike, offering a bigger event for delegates, more consumer focusing - an overall spectacle for all.

New to Interactive Festival 2008 will be Features, Exhibition and Recruitment areas specifically tailored to cater for the public - allowing them access to the latest games and job opportunities in games.

As ever, the three-day Interactive Festival wouldn't be complete without the cornerstones of conferences, keynotes, panel sessions, debates, games screenings and even more people than ever jostling to get through the doors.