(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| Microsoft Moves to Attract Chinese Internet Users
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September 23, 1998 (TAIPEI) -- Microsoft Corp. said it will launch a
Chinese Web site for MSN.com, its Internet portal site, following a
similar move recently by Yahoo! Inc.
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In an effort to grab a lion's share of the Internet advertisement market,
the company is now in close contact with local Internet content providers,
hoping to launch its Chinese-language Web site by the end of 1998.
Microsoft's local project manager, Chang Cheng-hsiu, said the company
is still deciding which contents will be adopted by the Chinese MSN.com
site. She does not rule out the possibility of translating part of the
contents from the company's U.S. sites.
Microsoft is also planning to make MSN.com the pre-installed Web site
for its Internet Explorer browser.
Chang said that since the Internet Explorer browser enjoys 75 percent
of the market in Taiwan, MSN will have a great advantage over its competitors
if such adjustments are made.
Local users will naturally hit the MSN site to look for the information
they need as soon as they click the IE browser, thus generating tremendous
advertising interest for the site.
Chang added that the Chinese-language Web site is just one of 22 such
localized sites that Microsoft is setting up in various countries all
over the world.
The company hopes that by tailoring its sites to the needs of local users
and tapping its advantage in the Web browser market, it will be able
to offset the heavy losses made by its MSNBC online news channel under
keen competition from Yahoo! and America Online Inc.
(Commercial Times, Taiwan)
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