Yahoo to launch Chinese version of photo site in 2007

SHANGHAI, Mar 16 (Reuters) Yahoo Inc. said on Friday it plans to launch a Chinese language version of its popular photo-sharing site Flickr.com, to tap demand from Chinese digital photo enthusiasts.

''The HK traditional Chinese interface of Flickr will be available later this year,'' a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman said in an email to Reuters.

The new Web site will target Hong Kong users and will offer all core features currently available on the English platform, the spokeswoman said, without elaborating.

While the traditional version of written Chinese is widely used in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the simplified version of the script is the standard in mainland China. However, most mainland Chinese are able to read traditional Chinese, and vice versa.

China is the world's second-largest Internet market after the United States, with around 137 million Web users.

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