Internet start-up seeks $1.7 billion listing

Game Domain International, an internet start-up based in Germany, is set to list in London with a 1.7 billion Euro valuation.

GDI has created an online virtual world called "A World of My Own," which allows PC users to buy, download, and play the latest game titles. The company is drawing up a prospectus and seeking dual listings in London and Frankfurt.

"We believe that AWOMO will do for PC games what iTunes has done for music," said Simon Burridge, chief executive of Virgin Games, a subsidiary of Virgin Group that owns a 20 per cent stake in the company.

Roger Walkden, the former European head of Activision, has been appointed chief executive of GDI.

AWOMO is scheduled to launch at the end of the year, with a flotation of GDI expected Q1 2008.