Thailand is producing the world's first national 3D website, which will promote the country's tourism and trading growth.
Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot, as vice chairman of the Creative Economy-Creative Thailand Committee, yesterday said the Thailand Planet website would showcase the Kingdom's culture, heritage, tourist attractions, the products of each community and the history of each province.
The site will kick off during the World Creative Forum to be held in Thailand in November.
The project is part of the government's Creative Economy-Creative Thailand initiative, which aims to increase creative industries' contribution to gross domestic product from the current 12 per cent to 20 per cent in 2012.
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"More than Bt1 billion will be invested in the website. The site will be co-produced by local and foreign media firms in cooperation with CAT Telecom, IBM, 200 trade associations, and local administrative agencies," said Alongkorn, adding that it would prove an efficient tool for promoting the country in many dimensions as people today spent more time in the cyber world.
The website will provide an instantaneous response for visitors, who can link to other websites of interest, reserve hotels and other accommodation in Thailand, purchase products online and learn about Thai culture and history.
In addition, the Economy-Creative Thailand Committee has agreed to set up a "Creative Town" project as a tool to promote economic growth in each province.
Initially, the government will select 10 provinces in a pilot project for developing the presentation of local wisdom and products, heritage, culture and history.
Phetchaburi has been selected as the first province under the scheme. The province has many notable local goods and a history that together have the potential to attract many more tourists.
For example, the province sells powdered sugar palm from local trees with a much higher added value than that from normal palm sugar, at Bt80 a kilogram against Bt30, and exports more than 15,500 distinctive lemons a year with a guaranteed price of Bt5 apiece.
Other provinces with potential for development under the project include Loei, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Chiang Mai.
Pachima Tanasanti, director-general of the Intellectual Property Department, said the agency would encourage local enterprises to register their products for Geographical Indication protection in view of their high added value.
Phetchaburi lemons could be the next products awarded GI protection. To date, 35 out of 60 Thai products requesting GI certification have been approved.
The GI system protects a product by certifying that it comes from a certain area and has characteristics that cannot be replicated elsewhere. It is supposed to add value to the product and prevent competitors from using the area's name and misleading the public about a product's origins.
GI protection should ensure these products face no competition from cheap copies on the world's markets.