Mumbai: Submissions are officially open for entry into the 3rd Annual ELAN, the awards show that’s become something of a phenomena over the past two years with hosts such as William Shatner and Seth MacFarlane helping them to celebrate greatness in video games, animation and, new this year, visual effects.

Not only have the ELAN added another whole industry to their show this year, they’ve gone entirely global. Anyone in the world from these three industry sectors can submit their work for an ELAN.

Spin West VFX president Doug Campbell says, "The ELAN give all visual effects, animation and video game professionals the opportunity to showcase the best they have to offer and be complemented with what will arguably be the most coveted award in Digital Media!"

Radical Entertainment president Kelly Zmak says, "The ELAN represent a unique opportunity for the industry to honour and acknowledge the talents and artistry of the people who make games. We do this as our chosen profession: The ELAN provide a perfect setting to celebrate this powerful form of entertainment and art."

The ELAN will give out a whopping 39 statues at the Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts on 28 February, 2009. All three sectors have twelve of their own categories, including one Honorary Award and one publicly chosen award, and students have one for each of the three industries.

On 2 February, 2009 the ELANs will announce 144 nominees for their upcoming awards show. "That’s a lot of nominees," says founder & producer Holly Carinci. "We’ll need to find a way to make it entertaining for all of you!" With Shatner as her first host and MacFarlane as her second, it’s a pretty good bet that Carinci will be true to her word.