(22 April 2008 3:00 pm)

MUMBAI: AOL has announced the beta launch of www.aol.hk, a dedicated Web destination in Hong Kong.

The new site combines AOL’s suite of communications products, including free e-mail and instant messaging with regional content in Chinese.

AOL is partnering with creators of content in the region, including China News, udn.com (United Daily News) and Phoenix New Media. The company will also draw upon its worldwide distribution partnership with HP to deliver a co-branded local language portal and search solution for HP users in Hong Kong. AOL will continue to add new content and features over the coming months.

AOL International executive VP Maneesh Dhir says, “Making AOL’s leading products and programming initiatives available to a worldwide audience is a key company strategy, and today’s launch is an important first step in Hong Kong. We are committed to providing consumers with a robust offering that meets their needs and makes it easier to access the power of the Internet.”

AOL VP, GM for Greater China Norman Koo says, “The launch of AOL.hk is just the beginning of an ongoing effort to provide consumers in Hong Kong with the services and content they want.

“Our industry-leading products and programming combined with our content partnerships will provide a unique experience for consumers and advertisers, as well as an international, regional and local mix of news, finance and entertainment information.”

• E-mail: AOL's e-mail service with industry-leading spam blocking, powerful virus protection and unlimited storage.
• AIM: The full integration of AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) with AOL’s e-mail product, which lets users send e-mails, chat, share pictures, videos and files all from one Web page.
• Content: Channels featuring relevant News, Entertainment, Finance and Technology.
•Regional content from partnerships with China News, udn.com (United Daily News), Phoenix New Media and others.
•Technology channel featuring news and commentary from chinese.engadget.com.
•Global news, entertainment and finance feeds, creating an interactive experience on the AOL Hong Kong portal.
• Search: AOL Search includes web and image search powered by Google, and is enhanced by AOL for the Chinese language.
• Video Search: Powered by the world's leading video search engine, Truveo.com, the video search channel on AOL.hk lets users quickly search and browse through more than one hundred million videos from thousands of sources across the Web. Specifically for Hong Kong, Truveo.com offers hk.truveo.com, which features popular, high-quality video of regional interest and allows users to search and discover videos in their native language.
• Toolbar: AOL Toolbar allows easy access to AOL services from anywhere on the Web so users can preview their e-mail inbox; share favorite links and pages with buddies, and more.
In addition to the AOL Hong Kong site, AOL will in the coming weeks deliver an AOL/HP co-branded language portal for users of HP desktop and notebook PC’s in Hong Kong.

As part of its international growth plans, AOL has now launched 19 portals and plans to expand to 30 countries by the end of 2008. In addition, AOL teamed up with HP last September to include localized versions of the AOL.com portal and other AOL services as the default setting on HP computers shipped in the United States and around the world.