It's a perfect world after all

A report from IDC shows that Perfect World is the most popular online game developer in China. In light of the growth in that market, it's a nice place to be.

It also helps attract investors. So, Perfect World has filed to go public in the US markets.

The firm's games are in 3D and are powered by a highly sophisticated proprietary engine -- called Angelica.

As of the first quarter, Perfect World's games have averaged about 237,000 concurrent users.

Perfect World has experimented with several business models. One approach is to charge based on time played and the other is to charge for items used in a game (known as "in-game items).

Last year, the company posted revenues of $12.9 million. And, for Q1 of 2007, revenues hit $11.9 million.

So how big is the market opportunity in China? IDC pegs the market at $816 million in 2006, which represents a 73.5% increase over 2005. The market is expected to surge to $3 billion by 2011.

The lead underwriters for Perfect World include Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Credit Suisse.

You can find the prospectus at the SEC web site. And, if you want to see some recent IPO filings, you can click here.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.