The aim of the art exposition was to raise the profile of GIS technology to the broader community and more importantly, position @GIS - a commercial enterprise specialising in innovative GIS applications - as one of Australia's leading GIS outfits.

The expo prefaced the official opening of the @GIS project, which kicked off this month with a small team of employees with the challenging task of translating their inventive ideas into commercial reality.

Project supervisor Bob Peever said the exposition was a novel approach to community education and gave locals an idea of how GIS can be applied in their own backyard. "Because GIS is highly technical and has the potential to alienate the general public, maps are a great way to interact with the community and showcase the benefits of this technology," Mr Peever said.

Atherton Shire Mayor Jim Chapman said as new entrants into the GIS industry, the Atherton Tableland project would be taking every opportunity to host workshops, foster innovation and cultivate an environment of industry leadership. "Our team of professionals will be approaching business development with unbridled enthusiasm and an urgent desire to put runs on the board," said Cr Chapman.

"We have six months of hard catch-up work ahead of us to collect data but once we start matching our ideas with the needs of our industry partners and other groups, our reputation as a leader will emerge."

"Basically what you're seeing is local government taking a proactive approach to shaping the future of our economy and we believe that we have the expertise, vision and infrastructure to put Atherton on the map."

Cr Chapman said the @GIS project was an initiative of Atherton, Eacham and Herberton Shire Councils, which had received start-up funds from the Sustainable Regions Program.

He said he was delighted with the quality of the work entered in the competition and the number of entries, which totalled 50 maps.

The GIS art exposition was a joint initiative of the Atherton Tableland Geographic Information System and the Far North Queensland GIS Users group.

Full details of the Art in GIS Expo, including entrants and images of the winning maps, are available at www.fungis.org.