Nokia has announced that it's extending the submission deadline for its Mobile Games Innovation Challenge competition until September 8th.

Entries were previously due in by yesterday, but the company wants to give more time for developers to polish their creations.

The contest has been organised by Nokia's games publishing division, in partnership with the IMG Awards. I talked to Nokia's Ari Tulla and IMGA organiser Maarten Noyons to find out more.

"It's very similar to the IMGAs, but it's a Nokia initiative," says Noyons. "They're looking for unpublished new concepts, and to stimulate the innovation in mobile games. There'll be an international jury of people, and it'll be a completely different group of people from the IMGAs."

Nokia plans to announce the winner at the end of October, at its Mobile Games Summit in Rome.

"We have made it easy as possible for developers to participate," says Tulla. "They don't need to even publish any code – it can be just a great idea. And there is a contract on offer for the winning developer, where we will see what kind of a plan we can make based on their concept."

How is Nokia defining 'innovation' as part of this contest, though? Tulla is keen to stress that it's not just about game ideas using new technologies – although that is something Nokia is keen to encourage – but also on the business models.

"Look at how [N-Gage title] Reset Generation can be played for free on the Web," he says. "That kind of business model innovation where you look at the market and find new things is also good to see."

Tulla says that when it comes to the technology side, Nokia wants to see great game ideas, not just cool tech used for its own sake.

"We are not making the mistake of using the new technology in a funny way. It's really about focusing on the consumer, and using these new powerful devices in a way that takes mobile games to the next level. We want to turn technological innovation into real emotion, which is a hard thing to do."

Noyons encourages developers with new ideas to enter both Nokia's Mobile Games Innovation Challenge and this year's IMGAs.

"They're both looking at unpublished games, and if you have a good idea, send it in to both contests," he says. "Each jury will have a different dynamic. And if you have more than one idea, submit them both!"

You can find entry details for the Nokia Mobile Game Innovation Challenge by clicking here, and for the IMGAs by clicking here.