Disney launches China portal

Disney executives hope its Minnie and Mickey Mouse characters will be as popular in China as they are at its theme parks in Japan

HONG KONG, China -- Entertainment and media group The Walt Disney Co has launched a Chinese Web portal.

Actors dressed as Mickey and Minnie Mouse joined Disney executives at a news conference in Beijing as they unveiled www.disney.com.cn on Sunday.

"This is just a great vehicle to expand our presence," Mark Handler, executive vice president and managing director of the international section of Disney's Internet unit, told Reuters.

Chinese company Searainbow Holdings supervised the content on the Chinese site, Handler said.

Disney will seek to use the site to strengthen its brand in China, where its cartoon characters are already known through television.

Internet sector suffering from ad squeeze

The growing number of Chinese families with access to a computer will be able to log on to the site and play games with Disney characters, Handler said.

But a low-yielding advertising market has hampered the Internet sector in China, where three Nasdaq-listed Web portals are still years away from expected break-even dates.

Handler declined to say whether Disney funded the Web site or when it expected the site to break even.

Handler said Searainbow would translate content and provide market expertise.

"They make sure that our content is relevant to the Chinese people," he said.

He declined to say whether the deal was a joint venture or to give details on business aspects of the arrangement.

The People's Daily Web site said in March that Searainbow would pay Disney a licensing fee for using Disney's brand name.

Reuters contributed to this report.