Sina Weibo launches paid service

Sina Weibo, one of the country's most popular micro-blogging sites, has launched a paid premium service.

For a 10 yuan ($1.57) monthly fee, users get a membership badge to flaunt on their Sina Weibo profiles. VIP users also enjoy other perks such as personalized pages and voice blog posts.

According to Xu Yuanyuan, a member of the marketing team at Sina, the move is to guarantee a more convenient and safer environment for users.