NEW YORK - China's Xinhua Gallery Media Co Ltd launched a test run of its advertising screen at New York City's Times Square on Monday, becoming the first Chinese company to take over the advertising space at the "World's Crossroads."

The 60-foot (19-meter) high by 40-foot (12-meter) wide LCD screen is located on 2 Times Square, which also features ads by Coca-Cola and Samsung. The sign will catch the eye of an average of half a million passers-by each day.

"Leasing the ad space is to promote brands and present the image of Xinhua Gallery," said Zhang Xiaojun, general manager of Xinhua Gallery Media Co Ltd.

He said the screen will show the branding videos of Xinhua News Agency and its corporations including China Xinhua News Network Corporation (CNC), China Finance Corporation (CFC), China Image Corporation (CIC) and China Enews Company (CEC), as well as advertisement videos from companies and cities across China.

Brian Turner, president of the Sherwood Outdoor which oversees the ad signs, told Xinhua in an interview that it is significant for the arrival of Xinhua on 2 Times Square and it will make Times Square become more and more global.

"We are proud to have the very first Chinese company branded here at the crossroads of the world -- Times Square," he said. "All these wonderful visitors that around the world, especially in the United States, they are going to see Xinhua upon on the sign and they are going to learn a lot about Xinhua."

Xinhua Gallery Media Co Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China's Xinhua News Agency. Its scope of business ranges from image communications to advertising and branding.