Babel flew the French cast of the original HIT Entertainment-owned Bob the Builder TV series from Paris to record voice-over scripts in London. The company then localised all video and graphics files, integrated the new assets into the source code and finally tested the game to produce a French PC version of the Bob the Builder Can we fix it? game.

"This complete service offering from Babel has proved to be invaluable to THQ. The ability to provide flexibility, cost and time effectiveness as well as expertise in a full range of services from voice-recording, re-integration of assets to final testing, is key for the success launch of this title,” said Michael Pattison, Head of Brand Management at THQ International.

The new department is headed by newly hired game programmer, Russ Williams, and backed up by the talents of ex-Static producer Iain White. In addition to localisation, the team's cross-platform expertise enables Babel to port games across all major platforms. This could be console, iTV, PC or wireless.

Ben Wibberley, Babel's Business Development Director, said: "Publishers are beginning to outsource integration and porting to Babel. There are major time and cost efficiencies involved and outsourcing frees up the creative resources of developers to carry on making great games."

Babel is now a fully fledged outsourcer for the games industry. Its four years' experience of localisation and translation work is now augmented by interactive TV and web production as well as an editorial services department. Earlier this year, the company also launched the world's first handheld compatibility lab aimed specifically at wireless gaming.