The state of Louisiana will now offer computer and video game companies a 25 percent tax credit for interactive media expenditures in the state, and also provides for a 10 percent credit on state payroll taxes.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal signed the Digital Media Act, sponsored by Democratic state senator Ann Duplessis, into law today, as the Entertainment Software Association celebrated the decision.

According to the ESA, there are 80,000 employees in the entertainment software industry nationwide, and as of 2007, 4,381 were employed in digital media firms in the state of Louisiana -- growing nine percent annually since 2001.

"We commend Governor Jindal for his strong leadership as well as that of Senator Duplessis for expanding the state’s computer and video game development and production base, and helping lead the way in creating the next generation of entertainment innovation in Louisiana," says ESA president and CEO Michael Gallagher.

"Developers and publishers live and work for years in states where games are created, providing a higher return on investment than any form of entertainment."