Avatar director James Cameron predicted yesterday that 3D would replace 2D as the standard, mainstream format for film, television and online content in less than 25 years.

Viewers will soon not only enjoy films in 3D cinemas but all forms of entertainment, including sports and music shows on TVs and laptops, Cameron said at a technology forum in Seoul, South Korea.

Mr Cameron directed the 3D epic Avatar, which won three Oscars and is the highest grossing film in history, with £1.8 billion in worldwide ticket sales so far. He has also directed other blockbuster films such as Titanic and Terminator.

Avatar has proved that 3D technology is not just a fad but a revolution, changing how the audience chooses to consume media and entertainment content, the 56-year-old director told the Seoul Digital Forum, an annual technology and media gathering.

"Quite simply, where they had a choice, the audience was selecting for the best possible way to see the movie," he said. "And they saw 3D as the premium viewing experience."

Mr Cameron likened what he called the "3D renaissance" to the advent of sound and colour in motion pictures. But he said full adoption of the enhanced format would require less time than the 25 years it took for colour movies to become standard.

Pointing to the popularity of 3D films, Mr Cameron envisaged the film, technology and consumer electronics industries rapidly moving towards mass adoption of the enhanced format.

That could come as soon as "in a couple of years", but "definitely less than the 25 years it took colour movies", he said at a press conference after the speech.

Television makers Samsung and Panasonic started selling 3D TVs this year in the hope of riding one of the next big waves in consumer electronics.