THE new multimedia business has proved lucrative for publisher Longman Asia, with sales in educational CD-ROMs up 30 per cent.
Subsidiary Longman Asia Multimedia, set up in 1994, has launched four educational CD-ROMs, all aimed at non-native English speaking children aged three to seven.
Publishing director Michael Boyd said the so-called 'edutainment' market was flourishing.
Many parents were willing to let children learn English through computer-aided programs, Mr Boyd said. About 90 per cent of its multimedia products were shipped to other Asian countries, with Japan taking up most of the stock.
Longman is noted for its wide range of dictionaries. Mr Boyd said its list of more than 50 bilingual dictionaries outperformed every competitor in the world.
With a prominent presence in most of Asia, including Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Thailand, Longman was now considering the China market.