Jenny Randerson, minister for culture in Wales

The new consortium would be known as "Cymru'n Creu" - which literally means "Wales Creates."

It would pull together a range of bodies, including the Wales Tourist Board, the Welsh Development Agency, the Sports Council, the Arts Council, and the National Library of Wales.

The idea is to encourage the creative industries such as film making, pop music and cultural tourism - sectors which are currently growing at twice the rate of the rest of the economy.

The assembly's arts adviser - former film and television director Ceri Sherlock - first proposed the consortium last summer, following a review of the arts in Wales.

It seems likely that it would be chaired by the assembly minister with responsibility for culture.

Sport will come under the umbrella

The breadth of membership of the proposed body reflects the assembly's desire that the consortium should mirror the culture of Wales in all forms - not just the arts.

The consortium is expected to be established quite quickly, and could begin work by the end of February.

One of the first projects could be the creation of a Welsh film fund - designed to encourage commercial movies to be made in Wales.