SINA.com Launches New Network of Sites to Serve 1.5 Billion Chinese Worldwide
New Sites Will Already Have Viewership of 120 Million Page Views Per Month
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 12, 1999--Reinforcing its No. 1 position in the Chinese Internet market, SINA.com today announced the launch of SINA.com network -- the largest global network of Chinese content and services to serve the 1.5 billion people of Chinese descent worldwide.
The new network, which comprises www.sina.com, www.sina.com.cn and www.sina.com.tw, is the only global Chinese network that pools together best of breed content from China, Taiwan, and North America to provide a one-stop destination for Chinese from all regions.
On the first day of launch, SINA.com will already have 120 million-page views per month, 2.2 million unique visitors each month, and over six hundred thousand registered users, making it four-times larger than Yahoo! Chinese, the next closest competitor.
The launch of SINA.com network follows the merger between SINANET.com of Sunnyvale, and Stone Rich Sight Information Technology Company Ltd. (SRS) of Beijing. The two companies announced their plans to merge in December 1998. The new network leverages the content and technology resources from both companies and demonstrates the tremendous synergy created by the merger.
''With the launch of the newly integrated network, we have reinforced our commitment to being the global leader in providing relevant content and services to Chinese worldwide,'' said Jim Sha, CEO of SINA.com. ''By combining all of our resources we are able to deliver new and improved in-language content and intuitive functionality to enhance the web experience for Chinese users globally.''
The newly redesigned network makes it even simpler for Chinese Internet users to interact with the world. SINA.com has constructed its comprehensive content and services into four easy-to-use channels to better serve Chinese consumers' needs and interests. The four main channels are:
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-- News: SinaNews is the authoritative Chinese news source with the
most comprehensive content updated every 15 minutes.
-- Search Engine: SinaSearch is the only Chinese site to offer both
directory and keyword search in three text modes (Big 5, GB, and
GIF for users without Chinese operating system).
-- Community: SINA.com has provided Chinese from around the world a
community to interact with one another using real-time chat
rooms, instant messaging, Bulletin Board Systems (BBS), e-mail,
and Club Yuan, a global dating service.
-- Living: SinaLiving provides Chinese consumers with an information
resource for recreational and lifestyle items -- Chinese
magazines, E-books, audio & video center, real estate, and
horoscopes.
In addition to these four main channels, specialty content areas such as Finance which provides real-time U.S. and Asian stock quotes along with market analysis; and Sports which delivers latest scores and coverage on local teams, have been expanded and enhanced.
The SINA.com network offers a universal user interface across all the sites assuring users a simple and familiar environment regardless which areas in the network they visit. Furthermore, a new single registration process had been constructed to allow users from each geographic market to ''roam'' in sites for other geographic markets with full access and privileges.
About SINA.com
SINA.com is a global Internet media company that operates the world's largest Chinese-language destination site. The company offers a network of branded content and services. The SINA.com global network includes properties in China, Taiwan, North America and planned sites for other Chinese population centers around the world.
With 120 million monthly page views, 2.2 million unique visitors per month, and 600,000 registered users, SINA.com is the leading brand in the Chinese Internet market. According to IDC, by the year 2001 the number of web users in Asia-Pacific will surpass that in Western Europe to become the number two market behind the United States.
Other leading Internet companies, such as Yahoo! (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) and AOL (Nasdaq:AOL - news) have also launched Chinese versions of their sites in 1998. SINA.com originated in 1995 and continues to be the market leader in viewership and registered user base.
SINA.com was created by the merger of two of the largest Chinese web sites in the world: SINANET.com of Sunnyvale and Stone Rich Sight Information Technology Company Ltd. (SRS) of Beijing. The two companies announced their plans to merge in December 1998. The new company, SINA.com, has offices in Beijing, Taipei, Hong Kong, and is headquartered in Sunnyvale.
The company's network of sites offers global reach with regional targeting. The sites currently include:
sina.com.cn serving China and Greater China sina.com.tw serving Taiwan sina.com serving North America and overseas Chinese worldwide
SINA.com's comprehensive Chinese-language content and services offer global information and communication tools, as well as local customization. The features include search, e-mail, shopping, chat, online pager, calendar global dating community, news, finance, and other lifestyle content tailored to local markets. |
