The Game Initiative will be unveiling some new market research detailing the growth of the online game industry at this year's Austin Game Conference (AGC), which runs next week, September 6th, 7th, and 8th in Austin, Texas.

According to a new study conducted by Parks Associates, a Dallas-based market research and consulting company, who will discuss their new data at AGC, the online game market is expected to grow from $1.1 billion in 2005 to $4.4 billion by 2010 in North America.

Currently PC gamers spend an average of 18.5 hours playing each week - more than console (13.6 hours), portable (8.9 hours), or mobile games (4.6 hours). Of those PC gamers, 70% play some form of multiplayer online game.

Additional market research, forecasts and current industry trends from researchers Parks Associates, The NPD Group, and Mmogchart.com will be discussed in detail at the Conference.

The fourth annual Austin Game Conference is expected to bring together over 2,400 game industry professionals from 20 countries representing more than 520 companies.