China's Sina Corp is to launch an English-language microblog aimed at users abroad, entering a market dominated by the United States-based Twitter.
The service will be a version of Sina's Chinese-language Weibo microblog, said company spokesman Mao Taotao.
"We're now developing an English-language microblog service, but there is no timetable to launch it," Mao said. "The service is aimed at overseas users, but we don't target users from a particular country."
Reports last week that Sina was considering such a service prompted suggestions it might be a rival to Twitter. But its appeal could be hampered by Chinese requirements that microblog services delete material considered subversive or pornographic.
"As a Chinese internet company, we will continue to abide by Chinese laws and regulations," said Mao.
China's top Internet companies are profitable and growing fast but are only just beginning to expand abroad.
The country has the world's most populous Internet market, with more than 450 million people online.
Sina CEO Charles Chao told Forbes magazine in March that Weibo had at least 100 employees monitoring content 24 hours a day.
Sina said last month the number of regular users of Weibo, launched in 2009, had risen to more than 140 million.
Chao said previously that the company might seek overseas partnerships to develop its microblog services.
The company will invest heavily in its microblog services this year, spending about US$100 million more than last year, Chao said.
