Top UK Firms Selected for Prestigious US Digital Mission

PRESS RELEASE: London, UK, Thursday 21st January 2010.

39 of the UK's leading digital SMEs have been selected for the second annual Digital Mission to South by South West interactive (SXSWi), one of the world's leading conferences for interactive media taking place in Austin, Texas from 11-17th March 2010. Established in 1994, the conference provides an opportunity for the Digital Mission companies to attend hundreds of conference sessions and networking events.

The successful companies were chosen from over 120 submissions by an advisory board of industry experts drawn from the UK community including: VC's, UKTI specialists, legal experts, journalist and industry pundits, to take part in the Digital Mission to SXSWi.

The trip organised by Chinwag (http://chinwag.com) on behalf of UK Trade & Investment (https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk) to enable digital firms to make the most of the opportunities in the US market, builds on last year's highly successful trip. Delegates benefit from extensive marketing at SXSWi, a vast stand at the SXSW interactive expo and attendance at the now-legendary Great British Breakfast event where they'll mingle with 200 international delegates over a traditional British fry-up.

Attendees also have access to the exclusive Digital Mission Masterclass, which will unwrap the nuts and bolts of setting up an office or doing business stateside. The session covers legal and tax implications along with case studies from UK companies who've successfully made the leap across the pond.

This trip builds on a successful series of missions in 2009 including a trip to Los Angeles and San Francisco in October and the second annual New York mission. This is the second year of the joint venture to help UK digital growth by Chinwag and UK Trade & Investment, assisting firms to develop new business channels, partnerships, seek investment and providing a detailed knowledge of the US market.

Companies nominated for the Digital Mission to SXSWi '10 are:


Amberlight 
Audioboo
Blueleaf Digital
Brainient
Codegent 
Codility
Cube Interactive
Face Group
FreshNetworks
GigLocator 
Howard Baines
Illumina Digital
KMP Digitata
Likecube 
Little World Gifts
Littleloud 
Mendeley
Mobilized 
MOFILM 
Moonfruit 
MusicMetric 
Nsyght  
oneDrum
Orange Bus 
PageDo 
Pixeco 
Plug-in Media 
Qhub 
Silence Media 
Skimlinks 
Slicethepie 
Smidgn 
SubHub 
TweetJobs 
UberVu 
Vibio
Videojuicer 
Wolfstar 
WorldTV 


Detailed information and contact details for each company is available from the official Digital Mission website:

http://www.digital-mission.org/sxsw10-companies 

The Digital Mission to SXSWi 2010 is generously supported by international law firm, Winston & Strawn (http://www.winston.com) and Sun Startup Essentials (http://uk.sun.com/startups). 

Chinwag CEO Sam Michel said: "We're delighted to be heading back South by South West with another Digital Mission. The firms represented showcase the enormous breadth and depth of talent in the UK's digital sector and I'm looking forward to working with them to make the most of the opportunity."

For more information, please visit: http://www.digital-mission.org Press resources including pictures, logos and a PDF/Word version of this release are available at: 

http://digital-mission.org/press

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

About Chinwag

The Chinwag community is a focal point for digital media practitioners in the UK and beyond. Founded in 1996, it has grown into a community media company that publishes websites, discussion forums and blogs supporting the people and companies who work in the digital industry. 

Since July 2008, Chinwag have worked closely with the UK Trade & Investment in organising the Digital Missions, which help UK digital SME's to expand their businesses abroad, forge partnerships with US companies and seek investment from overseas. They also publish Chinwag Jobs, the leading recruitment website for digital marketing, media, technical and design positions. http://chinwag.com 

About UKTI

UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) can help you rise to the exciting opportunities and challenges that globalisation offers. We work with UK-based businesses to ensure their success in international markets. We also encourage the best overseas companies to look to the UK as their global partner of choice. UKTI offers expertise and contacts through our national and global networks. It's our goal to enhance the competitiveness of companies in the UK, and to attract a continuing high level of quality foreign direct investment. http://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk/

About SXSW Interactive

SXSW Interactive Festival features five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable line up of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer.
http://sxsw.com/interactive 

For further information, please contact: Emily Fisher, Production Director, Chinwag Tel: +44 (0)20 7183 2923 Email: emily@chinwag.com Site: www.chinwag.com