LOS ANGELES - One of the world's leading makers of video games is donating $8 million to USC's School of Cinema-Television to expand the university's interactive media program.

The donation from Electronic Arts Inc. of Redwood City is to be used to fund an interactive entertainment program and an electronic arts faculty chair.

Electronic Arts producers, directors and designers will be among those teaching classes in the program, and the endowed chair will go to Don Mattrick, president of EA's worldwide studios.

Mattrick will also join the school's board of councilors, which includes directors George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

"The school's rich storytelling tradition and long-standing commitment to technological experimentation make it an ideal partner for EA," Mattrick said.

Part of the interactive entertainment program's mission will be to develop an innovation lab where students can design and produce games.

Electronic Arts said a key goal is to establish a pipeline of "next-generation" talent, including employees for its new Playa Vista game development studio.

The Playa Vista campus currently employs about 325 people, with plans to expand to 1,000 animators, engineers, designers and others who will work on such games as Command & Conquer and those based on EA's licenses for the James Bond and "Lord of the Rings" movies.

"They need people who are broadly trained in entertainment and storytelling and in the creation of experiences," said the school's dean, Elizabeth M. Daley. "Game design is more about storytelling, aesthetics and entertainment than about just the technology. The driving force must be the content and the playability."