MUMBAI: The global portable gaming industry will witness a boom in the coming five years. JupiterResearch, a division of Jupitermedia Corporation has announced that the audience for portable gamers will grow from 23 million in 2003 to 43 million in 2009.

Revenue will grow from $1.6 billion last year to $2.7 billion in 2009.

The report Portable Games Devices - Forecasting Growth in Anticipation of Intensifying Competition has defined the addressable audience of portable gamers. One of the categories is the users of dedicated game devices like Nintendo's Gameboy.

Gamers that play more than five hours per week on their cellular phones is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 16 per cent through 2009. This growth will be fuelled by the proliferation of cellular phones that are better equipped to support games. The report elaborates on the factors that will determine success in the portable games marketplace.

JupiterResearch VP and research director Michael Gartenberg added, "Competition is the major driver of growth over the next five years. As device manufacturers and content developers cater to broader audiences, we will see some amazing things happen.

"There's a gap in ownership between console and handheld devices. This allows for an untapped market as well as substantial opportunities in the age brackets from the upper teens to 34 years both male and female".

JupiterResearch is an international research advisory organisation. It specialises in business and technology market research in 18 business areas and 14 vertical markets