FIRST Minister Jack McConnell last month launched a major new festival to promote Scottish creative design, claiming Scotland has what it takes to compete with London and Milan.

The Six Cities Festival, due to start in 2007, will see major exhibitions, fashion shows and workshops taking place in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and Stirling.

And Mr McConnell confirmed funding of up to £3 million will be made available to support the project.

The two-month festival, which organisers hope will take place every two years, will see a series of events moving round the six cities in a bid to promote Scotland’s creative industries at national and international level.

The creative industries and digital media sectors - covering skills as diverse as music, film and computer games design - are seen by the Scottish Executive as a key part of Scotland’s rapidly-expanding "knowledge" economy.

Together, in Scotland, they already support up to 100,000 jobs and generate more than £5 billion a year for the economy.

That figure is expected to rise by up to 30 per cent over the next three to five years, making it one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy.

Mr McConnell said: "Scotland is home to some of the most exciting creative designers working anywhere in the world.

"The breadth of their talent and the flair and innovation of their work has shown that Scotland has what it takes to compete with London, Milan and Scandinavia."

Investment in creativity was an investment that would pay dividends, he said.

The First Minister added: "The creative industries support thousands of Scottish jobs and generate billions of pounds for our economy.

"If this festival can inspire young minds and show them what they can achieve, then its legacy will be a long-lasting one."