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It will be lights, cameras, action in the national capital as of tomorrow as the closure of Beijing's cinemas is set to be lifted.

And as the spread of SARS in the city looks to have dried up, it will only be a matter of time before other entertainment venues start filling up with people again.

Experts say the development of the entertainment industry, although severely battered by SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), will not be halted and it will still attract investors.

Cinemas were among the entertainment venues in the city that were shut by authorities in late April to try and halt the spread of the disease. Other regions around the country followed Beijing's lead.

A spokesman for the Beijing Joint Working Team for SARS Prevention and Treatment said karaoke bars, Internet cafes, discos and other entertainment centres are expected to get the nod to resume business soon.

But in a sign that SARS will continue to have a far-reaching impact on daily life, the outlets must pass a sanitary examination, obtain a permit from the local authorities and abide by a set of strict regulations, including temperature checks for patrons and regular disinfections.

Like other battered industries such as the tourism, hotel and catering sectors, the country's entertainment industry has witnessed a huge slump compared with the same period last year.

The owner of a Beijing-based karaoke bar, who would not reveal his name, said: "The industry has suffered the most as restaurants and hotels could still do some business. We have been totally closed and have not been able to do anything for more than one month."

Fast growth

According to Professor Chen Shaofeng, from Peking University's Chinese Culture Industry Research Institute, the aftershock of the virus will not slow the growth rate of the industry, which was just taking off.

Chen said it will give it a boost as the importance of the entertainment industry was not widely noted previously.

"As people begin to want more, the government has to give the entertainment industry more room, which will add to the growth of the Chinese economy in the future," Chen said.

The entertainment industry is big business. It represents up to 5 per cent of the gross domestic products (GDP) of both the United States and Japan.

In China, it covers film, TV broadcasting, music, amusement parks, clubs and karaoke bars.

Chen estimates the revenue generated by the culture and entertainment industry can reach around 550 billion yuan in 2005 (US$66.45 billion) from the current figure, which is less than 200 billion yuan (US$24 billion).

But the projected figure for 2005 would still account for less than 0.6 per cent of last year's national GDP.

"Compared with the fast development of other industries in China, the entertainment industry is not fully developed. There is great potential in the area and there are many areas that can be exploited," Chen said.

Investors

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences researcher Li Pengcheng said as there was plenty of room for the entertainment industry to grow, the Chinese Government was sending out a message to all investors: China wants to get involved in show business.

Under its World Trade Organization membership, China has to loosen its movie-distribution industry.

This year it increased the number of imported big-budget Hollywood films from 10 to 20. It will eventually get to an annual rate of about 40 productions.

The government has also given regional TV broadcasting rights to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and AOL Time Warner.

The SARS epidemic will not slow China's promise, Li said.

"Foreign players will try to enter the entertainment market because they want to act early to conquer the market when it is still in a fledgling stage," Li said.

Each Chinese person sees an average of half a movie every year, about one-tenth of the average in the United States. The annual box-office revenue is US$200 million, one-thirtieth of that in the United States, said Dong Ping, president of Asian Union Film Ltd.

The company, in conjunction with international entertainment giant Sony, shot the film "Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon."

The film, one of the biggest hits to come out of China, made Sony a fortune.

The Chinese TV market is also full of vigour and prime for development, unlike the overseas TV market, which has plateaued out, said Jamie Davis, president of STAR China, News Corp's broadcasting branch in Asia.

According to global market research company AcNielsen, China's TV subscribers, including cable and satellite TV users, will surpass those of the United States to be the world's No 1 this year, Davis pointed out.

China will attract at least 106 million pay TV subscribers in 2003, overshadowing the United State's 105 million.