Facebook targets China, world's biggest Web market

BEIJING (Reuters) - Online social network site Facebook.com has launched a version targeting mainland Chinese Web surfers to compete with local and overseas rivals in the world's largest Internet market.

Facebook users in mainland China accessing the website are redirected to http://zh-cn.facebook.com, which is in the simplified version of Chinese used on the mainland.

A version in traditional Chinese, the script used in Hong Kong and Taiwan, is also available.

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A spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Facebook -- an online network which allows users to create personalized pages and link to others -- released French, German and Spanish versions this year. About two-thirds of Facebook's more than 67 million users live outside the United States.

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

Facebook is playing catch-up to News Corp's MySpace, which established a Chinese-language Web site in April 2007 and has tapped into over 20 countries globally.

The rapid growth and widespread acceptance of the Silicon Valley-based company has created a flurry of Chinese copycats, including Xiaonei.com and Zhanzuo.com. In May, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, hugely popular at home for his visits to quake-hit Sichuan, emerged as the 10th most popular politician on Facebook. China overtook the United States to become the world's biggest Internet market with 221 million Web users by the end of February, according to the China Internet Network Information Centre.

(Reporting by Michael Wei; Editing by Sophie Taylor)