AN AWARD-WINNING food writer has joined the team at the tourist board to boost the region's destination's culinary appeal to visitors from all over the world.

Anne Benson will be working as food tourism consultant with leading and aspiring local chefs, restaurateurs and suppliers.

She will work with The Mersey Partnership (TMP) tourist board to develop service and quality standards at establishments across the region.

ONE of the best-known theatrical marketers in Merseyside is starting a new act in his life by setting up his own business.

Bill Elms is leaving his role as head of sales and marketing at Liverpool Empire Theatre to set up marketing and PR company Bill Elms Associates.

The firm will focus on live entertainment both locally and nationally.

Mr Elms started his career in live entertainment 21 years ago as an usher at the Empire, but soon moved into marketing.

LIVERPOOL firm USP Creative has been appointed as the retained agency for national structural engineering firm Curtins Consulting.

The marketing company has developed a national and regional publicity campaign.

Work will begin next week on a full signage programme that will see USP fit out each of Curtins' 11 regional offices - starting with its Liverpool head office.

CREATIVE agency Finch is serving up the marketing campaign for a European badminton tournament in Liverpool next year.

Organisers say next February's European Mixed Team Badminton Championships, at the Echo Arena, will be the first world-class badminton event to be held in the city.

The event will see Players of both sexes will represent their countries in doubles and singles games. Competing countries will include the home nations, France, Germany, Holland, Poland and Russia.

The individual European championships will be held in Manchester in 2010. This is the first time the championships have been split across two events.

ON READING the words "games development", images of teenage geeks in untidy bedrooms easily spring to mind. But games development in the UK is big business, and a great success story in our area.

In Liverpool alone, there are more than 500 people working in development with two large multinational publishing companies - and, surprisingly, many of us aren't actually geeks.

Games are a serious industry nowadays, with top titles costing millions to make, requiring teams of over 50. And the UK has been doing really well. In 2003, we added nearly £200m to the UK's balance of trade.