TALENTED and inspirational - and making a difference in Hampshire. This evening seven of Hampshire's most forward-thinking businesses will be waiting to hear if they are the winner of one of the three Daily Echo-backed award categories at the 2003 Hampshire business Awards.

The awards, in association with the newspaper, take place at Meridian's TV Studios in Southampton tonight and will be presented in front of an audience of hundreds of the region's leading business people and hosted by Meridian television presenter Andy Steggall.

The finalists, in alphabetical order, are:

KPMG Company of the Year:

City Technology, based in Portsmouth are acknowledged as leading worldwide suppliers of gas sensors technology to a wide range of industrial OEMs across many different industry sectors.

Paultons Park, a family leisure park in Romsey, has established an enviable position in the leisure and tourism sector. The park now has over 40 different attractions designed to appeal to young families.

Scott Wilson, an international consultancy based in Basingstoke, provides a comprehensive range of integrated planning, management, engineering and environmental services in built and natural environments throughout the world.

Tony Cottam, chairman of the judging panel and senior partner of KPMG in the South, said: "Year on year, the Hampshire Business Awards continue to reveal the most talented, inspirational and exciting businesses in the county.

"Once again, the judges have been extremely impressed with the standard of entries.

"Perhaps the most exciting thing about this year's finalists is the wide range of industry sectors that they represent. It's a great illustration of the breadth of skills and talent we have in Hampshire and such diversity can only be a good thing for the health of the county's economy."

Bond Pearce Innovation Award:

City Technology - a manufacturer of gas sensors, based in Portsmouth

Industrial Acoustics Company (IAC) designs and manufactures noise control products. Based in Winchester, IAC established themselves in 2002 as Europe's largest company in the market, with the number one or two position in every region in every market in which they operate.

Scott Wilson - a Basingstoke based engineering consultancy.

Bond Pearce partner David d'Arcy Hughes said: "The standard of entries to this year's Bond Pearce Innovation Award has been very high and the judges have been impressed by the spirit of innovation and enterprise that is clearly thriving among Hampshire businesses.

"Our three finalists - City Technology, IAC and Scott Wilson - all exhibited a determination to overcome the challenges of developing innovative solutions for specific projects, and the judges faced a considerable challenge themselves in choosing a winner.

"Although we have to name a single winner, all three finalists deserve huge credit for coming this far, and for being voted as among the top businesses in Hampshire."

Marsh Business in the Community Award:

Associated British Ports (ABP), which owns and operates the Port of Southampton, engages in community activities which include working closely with schools and colleges, keen sponsorship of art and art-related activities and providing its facilities to community groups for little or no cost.

Ford Motor Company in Southampton concentrates on three core areas with its community programme - widening access to learning, diversity/equal opportunities and reducing social exclusion. Its projects are carried out in imaginative and interesting ways.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Services, based in Eastleigh, campaigns to reduce the number of child-related arsons in the Hampshire region. This and a host of other community support projects reduce the numbers of fires throughout the region.

Harvie Carswell, head of Marsh's South-ampton office, said: "Despite the fact that our three finalists operate in totally different sectors, community giving is as important to each of them. Each one is providing very tangible benefits to the community and it's good to see that some of the more difficult social issues are being tackled 'head on'. This shows they're in it for the long haul which is very commendable."