Website for Chinese Content Launched in HKA broadband Internet site for Chinese content to bring China to the world was launched in Hong Kong on May 9 by the Hong Kong-based Hownew.com Ltd., the first broadband Internet provider of exclusively Chinese content.The site, named hownew.com, is an interactive, multimedia one for global Chinese content and Chinese-related concepts, offering a wide range of information and entertainment targeting the global Chinese community and international audiences with interest in Chinese content. The initial content includes live and on-demand television and radio programs, daily news and special event information, and to be added in the coming months are e-commerce, a celebrity corner, chats, e-mail, online shops and panel discussions. Hownew.com and its strategic partner, SOFTBANK China Venture Capital, will pump an estimated 26 million U.S. dollars into the company by the end of the year. The site uses the latest video streaming technology coupled with broadband technology to transmit information across the Internet 100 times faster than with a traditional dial-up connection, according to Linda Lau, chief executive officer of the Hownew.com Ltd. Some of the site's content is sourced from television and radio stations, and the company has established strategic partnership and alliances with Chinese television and radio stations, including the CCTV, China's central TV station, Lau said. Researchers predicted that by the year 2003, China will have more than 100 million or 20 percent of the total global Internet users and there will be a total of 52.2 million native speakers accessing the Internet in Chinese in the year. "We recognize this growth and market potential," Lau said. |
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