CRI Online Launches New Language Services

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-09-23 19:37

CRI Online Launches New Language Services
Diplomats from six nations and officials with related organs attend a ceremony held in Beijing on Wednesday to mark the launch of the new language services of CRI Online, the official multi-language website of China Radio International. [chinadaily.com.cn]

CRI Online, the official multi-language website of China Radio International (CRI), China's only state international radio broadcaster, formally launched six more foreign language services on September 23, making the total number of language services operated on CRI Online to 59.

Wang Guoqing, deputy director of the Information Office of the State Council, Tian Jin, vice Minister of State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), and Wang Gengnian, Director-General of China Radio International, as well as some foreign diplomats in China attended the launch ceremony in Beijing.

The six new website editions include Belarusian (belarusian.cri.cn), Dutch (nl.radio86.com), Greek (greek.cri.cn), Hebrew (hebrew.cri.cn), Icelandic (is.radio86.com) and Norwegian (no.radio86.com).

This is also CRI Online's latest move in further consolidating its cutting edge in multi-language services and enhancing its capacity in international broadcasts and communication, following its earlier online services launched in Ukrainian and Croatian in 2008.

CRI Online's multi-language and multimedia platform has become a major window for web users around the world to learn about China in their own mother tongues.

The six newly-launched news services are the first of their kind in their own native languages in China. They provide information about business, culture and tourism in China, and offer Chinese music and free online Chinese classes, via their multimedia platforms in the form of texts, photos, and audio and video webcasts.

Finland-based Radio86 is one of CRI's closest affiliates in Europe. The Norwegian, Icelandic and Dutch language content will be produced by in-house staff at Radio86.

CRI Online was officially launched by China Radio International in 1998. It has so far grown into a multi-language and multimedia platform that offers 59 language services and 18 webcast stations.