Angry Birds, Rock Band 3 Up For British Design Award

Rovio's Angry Birds and Harmonix's Rock Band 3 are among the 15 nominees in the interactive category of the prestigious 2011 British Insurance Design Awards, announced today. The two video games are up against products including iOS newsreader apps, an iPad synthesizer, a light-based art installation and a microscope attachment for cell phones. Described by organizers at London's Design Museum as "the Oscars of the design world," the BIDAs "showcase the most innovative and forward thinking designs from around the world." Nominees are selected "by a group of internationally respected design experts, curators, critics, practitioners and enthusiasts," according to the awards web site, with overall and category winners "elected by an international jury." Winners will be presented during a dinner ceremony at the museum on March 15, and all nominees will be displayed at the museum until August 7. Now in its fourth year, the awards previously nominated area/code's online game Sharkrunners in 2008 and Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet in 2009. Neither game was selected as a winner.