Beijing News

The State Council, or China's Cabinet, said Friday the government will accelerate the development of the next-generation Internet industry in the next few years and boost the sector's role in stimulating the economy.

China aims to put the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)-based network into small-scale commercial pilot use and form a mature business model by the end of 2013, according to a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.

From 2014 to 2015, the country will deploy and commercialize the IPv6-based network on a large scale and achieve the interconnection between IPv4 and IPv6-based operations, the statement said.

During that period, a group of international competitive research institutions and enterprises in the next-generation Internet sector will be established, it said.

More than 250 million Internet users have registered on Sina Weibo, China's twitter-style Internet service, said Charles Chao, President and CEO of Sina Corparation at a teleconference Wednesday morning.

Sina Weibo, launched by SINA Corporation on 14 August 2009, is one of the most popular sites in China.

One of China's leading internet service portals, qq.com, launched its Olympic strategy plan on Thursday, announcing 10 video programs during the London Olympic Games next year.

The company said for the London Olympic Games, which will be held from July 27 to Aug 12, it will send about 100 journalists to the event while about 400 editors will be in Beijing to enhance the coverage. The programs will be updated continually during the 16-day event.

"We worked out the Olympic plan based on the needs of our customers," said Chen Juhong, editor-in-chief of qq.com.

Alimama.com challenges the main Internet advertising player in Chinese online AD market.

China's Internet advertising market hit 13.8 billion yuan (about $2.17 billion) in the third quarter, according to a report released Friday in Beijing.

The figure shows a 22.5 percent quarter-on-quarter increase, and an 83.1 percent increase compared to the same period in 2010, said the report released by Beijing-based Analysis International, a leading provider of information products, services and solutions for China's Internet market.