Washington state is making a pitch to new businesses and entrepreneurs with a special advertising section that appears in the September 6th issue of Fortune magazine. In addition to touting geographic proximity to Asia, a thriving high-tech community, no income tax and cheap hydroelectric rates, the state also touts Washington as a place of both "beauty" and "brains."

The pitch notes:

Get the best of both worlds. Washington State is more than just a pretty place. Along with all our breathtaking beauty, you’ll discover a highly educated workforce, strong venture capital opportunities and a gateway to global trade markets. It’s easy to see why U.S. News & World Report named Washington State the #1 place to start a business in 2009.

The effort is part of an ongoing campaign at Choose Washington, which operates under the tag line "Innovation is in our nature."

You can see the entire advertorial -- which includes quotes from Susan Sigl of the Washington Technology Industry Association, Governor Chris Gregoire and others -- here.

In the same issue as the special advertising section, Fortune also compiles its list of the 100 fastest growing companies. Among the Washington companies that made the list are: Amazon.com (No. 30); Coinstar (No. 61) and F5 Networks (no. 64).