Anil K Joseph

Beijing: China's leading news portal is keen to have a Hindi version of its website for Indians, who are currently among its top 10 browsers, but high cost was a barrier, an official said.

"We know that Indians are among our ardent readers. However, we don't have plans now to have a Hindi version of our website due to huge expenses involved," deputy director of people.com.cn, Huang Qixiang, told visiting journalists here.

The portal, under People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) currently offers its content in Chinese, Arabic, English, French, Japanese, Russian and Spanish, acting as a bridge between China and people from around the world.

"If we can do it economically in the future, we will consider opening our website in Hindi language," Huang said while noting that most Indians knew English.

According to Brian Zhang, Editor of People s Daily Online, Indians were among the website s top 10 readers from around the world, which were topped by Chinese, Americans, French, British, Germans and Australians.

"Thanks to a decade s efforts, People s Daily Online has made itself one of the most authoritative, comprehensive and influential websites and a disseminator of information," he said.

With publication started in June 1948 and a current circulation of three million, People s Daily is among the most influential newspapers in China. According to UNESCO, it takes its place among the world top 10.
Source : PTI