Viet Son Net

Sina (Nasdaq:SINA) has formed an independent department for the development and operation of its microblogging products, TechWeb.com.cn reported April 2, citing an internal Sina announcement.

The department, to be headed by Sina Products Division General Manager Peng Shaobing, will amalgamate the company’s operations department and products department’s respective microblogging teams, the report said.

Reports earlier this month quoted Peng as saying Sina plans to start offering value-added services for its microblogging service in the near future.

NetEase (Nasdaq:NTES) released a microblogging service at t.163.com on March 20, reports Beijing Times. The service also offers a wireless application protocol (mobile) version and permits 23 more character Sina’s (Nasdaq:SINA) microblogging service, which is limited to 140 characters, the report said.

Tencent (0700.HK) is also working on microblogging and plans to link its own service with instant messaging QQ accounts, said the report.