Videogame website networks GameSpy and IGN are set to merge, in a move which they claim will create the largest network of gaming websites on the Internet, with traffic exceeding 673 million pageviews per month.

The two American site networks are expected to complete the merger in the first half of 2004, with IGN chief executive Mark Jung serving as CEO of the new company, while GameSpy founder and chairman Mark Surfas will be chief strategy officer. Both of the major corporate identities will be retained, as the GameSpy and IGN brands are both considered to be very strong - although we can presumably expect to see some rationalisation of the new company's operations where overlaps in content occur.