France puts game icons on stamps

France is known for being one of the hotbeds of game development, with big names such as Eidos, Infogrames, and Ubisoft calling the country home. But apparently France takes the industry so seriously that providing citizens with good jobs isn't good enough.

The country has issued postage stamps with 10 of gaming's most popular characters. Nintendo's Mario, Link from The Legend of Zelda, and Donkey Kong are joined by Pac-Man, Prince of Persia's title character, Rayman, Lara Croft, The Sims, Spyro the Dragon, and French game character Adibou. A 60-page book celebrating the stamps and gaming is also available, and it features an introduction from Sony's Ken Kutaragi.

For more information, check out the La Boutique du Timbre Web site (which is mostly in French).