Moscow-based entertainment company Karo has opened Russia's first shopping centre-based mini-plex.

The 700-seat, four-screen cinema opened its doors last week in the Ramstore shopping centre in a Moscow suburb. The site follows a model that has proved successful in Eastern European countries such as Hungary where cinemas are incorporated into shopping centre developments.

Karo, which also operates the single screen Pushkin cinema, one of the country's premier venues, aims to open its second entertainment site in a Ramstore shopping complex at the end of the year. The first, costing $1.2m, covers 1,200 square metres and includes a children's playground, bars and cafes.

Karo also plans to open a further four multi-screen cinemas by the end of the year. The first will be a three-screen site in the Moscow area, followed by a three-screen cinema in September and two more two-screen theatres in St Petersburg at the end of the year.

Karo is the first client to use Warner Bros International Theatres' Cinetrainment Academy which trains personnel in cinema operations and management.