[EDLING:1702] fmhult at dolphin.upenn.edu has sent you an article from HoustonChronicle.com Talk like Yao on China's new Web site

[fmhult at DOLPHIN.UPENN.EDU]

 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4032890.html

 SHANGHAI, China - China launched a Web site, www.linese.com, today
offering free Chinese lessons and materials to promote the study and
use of the language abroad.

The site includes audio-visual presentations, interactive exercises and
advice for teachers of Mandarin Chinese, with photographs and
descriptions of cultural icons such as the Great Wall, kung fu actor
Jackie Chan and basketball star Yao Ming.

Many of the exercises touch on China's mythical and imperial past,
including practice sentences such as "how can you be a hero if you are
unarmed" and "I find that Tibetans like worshipping heroes".

China is keen to expand its cultural influence along with its growing
economic power, and is also setting up a network of "Confucius
Institutes" around the world to promote its culture.

The Web site is only in Chinese and English, but versions in Japanese
and Korean are being developed, the official Xinhua news agency said.

More than 30 million people are now learning Chinese as a foreign
language and more than 2,500 universities in 100 countries offer
Chinese courses, the Ministry of Education reported.


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