When it was announced that Apple was enabling people to gift apps through the App Store, it didn't take long for creative marketeers to think up how they could use the new distribution method in their favour.

For one thing, iPhone developers using it only end up paying 30 percent of the gross cost of the gifting; the remaining 70 percent comes back to them as per any other App Store sale.

For another, it's assumed gift sales will count towards chart positions, again just like any other sales.

And so it is that Imangi Studio has launched a competition to give away 1,000 copies of its game Harbor Master.

Guiding fingers

Ostensively to promote the upcoming launch of the HD iPad version of the game, the promotion also works as an email trawl as all you have to do is drop your email into the subscription box.

Although sadly for those of us without US-registered iTunes accounts, the gifting method is region-locked, so we won't be able to win; although we're sure Imangi would be happy to take your email address nevertheless.

You can enter the competition here. It runs until 3rd April.