ABSTRACT
The new media have come under the scrutiny of business firms and politicians alike. Politicians hope that the new multimedia industries will create high-paying jobs, business people see the new media as a means to enhance the competitiveness of their firms in conventional markets, or as a tool for the development and design of new products or services. Despite such hopes and wishes, the future prospects of this industrial sector remain uncertain. Up to now, neither the technology, the articulated preferences of corporate customers and private consumers, nor the regulatory frameworks suggests a definite path of development (see Riehm and Wingert 1995, DIW/Prognos 1995).
