Defence training systems and animation movies might seem worlds apart. But there is one thing that links the two at ST Electronics - engineering know-how.

That is why the company better known for developing systems for defence, government and commercial customers, has made the foray into animation movies.

The company has been 'designing and supplying simulation and training systems for defence and commercial simulation training' for more than 20 years, said its president, Mr Seah Moon Ming.

'Computer graphics, visualisation in virtual worlds and interactive learning are similar core competencies needed in animation and games, so the move into digital media is just a natural progression for us,' said Mr Seah.

Mr Seah Moon Ming, President, ST Electronics

In fact, a US$20-million (S$30.6 million) movie co-produced by the electronics arm of Singapore Technologies, its American partner Promenade Pictures and New Zealand's Huhu Studios, is due to hit the big screens - more than 600 of them - in the United States later this year.

ST Electronics and its partners are also exploring a simultaneous launch here.

This makes it the first movie largely produced in Singapore to garner a mainstream release in the US market, considered the bellwether in movies and animation.

Called The Ten Commandments, ST Electronics' maiden movie, two years in the making, is based on the biblical story of Moses and the Red Sea.

It features the voices of Christian Slater as Moses and Sir Ben Kingsley as the narrator, and is based on a script written by Mr Ed Naha, who wrote the screenplay for the 1989 hit, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids.

Critics have reacted positively.

'It's one of the world's most important stories...and an all-star team is bringing it to life in computer animation for the first time.

'I expect that families across the globe will be enjoying this and other coming epic tales of the Bible films,' said Mr Steve McEveety, who produced The Passion Of The Christ.

Mr Seah said a team of 30 animators based here worked over 15 months to produce the movie. They were knee deep in everything from character design and set creation to animation and lighting.

The work was done at ST Electronics' Amoy Street studio, set up specifically for this purpose.

'Creativity plays an important role in the digital media business. Because of this consideration we were committed to build a studio from the ground up,' said Mr Seah of the studio that was opened in 2003.

Ms Cindy Bond, president of Promenade Pictures, said of working with ST Electronics: 'Singapore has been rapidly gaining recognition as an animation hotbed, with several international co-productions being produced right out of Singapore's animation studios.'

In fact, The Ten Commandments is only the first in a series of biblical epics that ST Electronics is working on with its two partners, with production on the next one, The Flood, already under way.

Last year, four Singapore production firms, including ST Electronics, signed a combined US$54 million worth of deals to co-develop movies and TV content for the international market at Mipcom, an annual TV trade fair held in Cannes.

The Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) has been leading local companies to the event in its efforts to put Singapore products on the global stage.

Which is also ST Electronics' aim.

Said Mr Seah: 'We hope to put Singapore on the digital animation map with these projects.'