Many Worlds, Many Dreams: ChinaQ Prepares to Tempt China’s Generation Y

Chinese netizens looking to go virtual will soon have another cyberworld to choose from - China Telecom and Shenzhou Hengji Network, a subsidiary of EnReach Technology, have teamed up to launch ChinaQ, which will compete with more established worlds such as HiPiHi, Novoking, Entropia and uWorld. ChinaQ is currently in private beta testing mode.

As with other virtual worlds, ChinaQ allows users to edit their avatars, make friends, own land, and create and sell user- generated content. ChinaQ will use a virtual coin, the “CQ coin”, which can be bundled with the user’s ADSL and phone bills. Residents will also be able to earn virtual coins by completing various tasks.

Although the level of China Telecom’s involvement in ChinaQ is not yet clear, the partnership does throw up some interesting possibilities for telco-virtual world interaction. China Telecom already has a very popular value-added service portal called vnet.com which could integrate 3D virtual worlds into its offerings. It could also develop a social network for its service subscribers, reward real-world / virtual customers with virtual / real-world services and products, and lay on in-world VoIP services.

Despite the hype surrounding their launches, all of China’s homegrown virtual worlds are as yet showing limited growth. Although they have attracted a range of corporate partners, both Chinese and foreign, their small user base currently means direct in-world advertising is of limited value. However, some worlds are generating additional interest / revenue through more innovative applications such as training factory workers, conducting online auctions and opening virtual classrooms.

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