娱乐英语新闻:Sweden to invest in digitization of cinemas

STOCKHOLM, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Swedish government intends to invest 60 million kronor (about 9 million U.S. dollars) over four years from 2012 for the digitization of cinemas, according to a statement from the Ministry of Culture on Thursday.

"The initiative is done to a large number of cinemas, mainly in smaller towns,"the statement said.

"Through the shift to digital technology, cinemas across the country could offer current movies and more variety of films than before,"the statement said.

In addition, the cinemas can show events, such as opera, musical and theatrical performances. This may involve direct broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Dramatic Theater, the Royal Opera and Stockholm's Concert Hall, the statement added.

Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn Roth said that means that many cinemas in smaller towns do not have to be shut down, instead they can get new life with digital technology and offer visitors a lot more experience than before.

The digital display technology also provides the opportunity to show major sporting events and gaming contests. At the same time they can provide new opportunities for increased availability of films for audiences with disabilities, for instance, the technique of pre-recorded audio description soundtrack can be developed, the statement added.

Swedish Film Institute will manage the digitization of cinemas.