Social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace are having an impressive impact on the way that online games work, according to an expert on the subject.

Tim Gibbon, the co-founder and editor of the Social Media Portal, explained that a wider audience can be captured through the medium by basic offerings put forward by small developers, with the games being basic yet viral and entertaining.

He continued: "Social media sites have awakened how people can share all manner of activities, assets and content across the web including images, photographs, video etc, and of course games as well."

Mr Gibbon added that quicker broadband speeds, the widespread purchase of games consoles and the overall access to the internet is increasing the use of casual games and in regions bigger than ever before.

It follows comments made by the games designer Andrew Mayer at the Penny Arcade Expo, with the expert claiming that the gaming industry has reached a tipping point where hardware no longer drives innovation and evolution, leaving it up to designers.

In a recent survey of SMEs for Connect, the two most important benefits of outsourcing were guaranteed response times and allowing in-house IT staff to concentrate on more strategic issues.