Hollywood studio Metro Goldwyn Mayer is to open offices in both Holland and Belgium in 2004.

The launch of the two new operations on June 1 will be led by the MGM's Home Entertainment division and is in line with the company's strategy to exploit its library of films in the booming DVD market.

This role is currently performed by the operations of MGM's international distribution partner 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Corne Dekkers has been recruited as General Manager for MGM Holland. Previously sales director at Buena Vista - Benelux. Dekkers has 10 years experience in the entertainment market.

Dekkers will report to Bruno Carlson, MGM's Executive Vice President & Managing Director Europe.

The new teams will be responsible for developing sales and marketing campaigns for numerous products including family comedy Good Boy!, Brittany Murphy starrer Uptown Girls, and the Bond franchise.

In addition to the James Bond franchise the MGM library of over 4,100 titles includes classics such as Some Like It Hot, Rocky, the Pink Panther franchise and The Magnificent Seven as well as of the Orion and Polygram libraries. Many classics have been released as Special Edition DVDs including The Terminator, The Usual Suspects, Fargo, The Silence of the Lambs and Thelma & Louise.

2004 will see the Special Edition release of classics including The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, A Bridge Too Far, The Battle of Britain, Rainman and Four Weddings And A Funeral.