The company manufactures multimedia players, home appliances, magnetic recording media, and electronic parts and components. The $7.4-billion LG Electronics hopes to firmly ingrain the digital culture within all the LG Electronics-affiliated companies towards the middle of 2000 through the transformation of related activities and management culture within the company.

Vice-chairman and chief executive officer John Koo unveiled the Digital LG management plan at a ceremony held at LG's Twin Towers in Yoldo-dong, Seoul.

In a statement, Koo said: "LG Electronics, hereafter, will be led by digital-based business lines. The company will provide consumers with exciting and convenient digital products andservices. Digital-based businesses are the only choice for LG Electronics and provide an excellent opportunity for us to realise our ambitions. It is the way in which we must go ahead in the next millennium."

Koo described LG Electronics' vision in the digital era as one which was outstanding in marketing, research and development and design.

The company identified digital management as its guiding principle in June to emerge as a world-class enterprise, especially in consumer electronics and durables. Digital management would allow the company to proactively deal with the rapidly changing business environment, which is now centred around digitalisation and networking.

To attain digital supremacy, the company will completely transform the business structures, organisational culture and management systems of each operation in LG Electronics, the statement added. However, no details were furnished. The company will also strive to revolutionise its approach and business practices to be in line with the newdeclaration. The company also organised a special show of all of its digital products, which included those scheduled to be launched by the end of this year.