India logs onto Chinese social networks

India has logged onto the Chinese versions of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to reach out to the millions of internet users in China with a glimpse of their neighbour's culture and heritage. Sutirtho Patranobis reports.

India has logged onto the Chinese versions of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to reach out to the millions of internet users in China with a glimpse of their neighbour's culture and heritage.

Among the two most popular social networking sites in the world, Facebook and twitter are banned in China; so is YouTube.

But China has its own equivalent of the sites - youku where videos and movies are shared and the popular weibo, a hybrid of Facebook and Twitter.

According to official data, there are over 513 million net users in China.

Recently, documentaries on India were uploaded on youku, which could interest those here keen to know about India.

Four documentaries have been dubbed in Mandarin.

The Indian embassy site on weibo has more than 5,000 followers who get regular updates about functions and cultural progammes that are held.

India has also stayed clear of the officially banned Facebook and Twitter, possibly to avoid controversy.