Sina will soon launch a virtual currency to fit into its hit microblogging platform, Weibo. The currency, to be called the Weibi, will allow users to purchase virtual products and value-added services (VAS).
This will be Sina’s first major step towards monetizing Weibo, which has just over 150 million users right now. It’ll roll out sometime in Q3, according to sources quoted on various Chinese tech news sites.
The Weibi is confirmed by its being outlined in Sina’s own Weibo wiki, though it has not been announced officially. In the Wiki, it’s detailed how developers can access the upcoming Weibi API, and how one Weibi will be valued at 1 Chinese yuan.
Sina’s virtual currency mirrors rival Tencent’s QQ Currency, which can be used across a number of QQ services to buy cartoon-ish avatars, decorate virtual houses, or nurture virtual pets. Hopefully Weibo users will feel safe using the Weibi, particularly after Sina experienced its first security problem last month as a hacker took advantage of an exploit in an attempt to gain followers.
Weibo is crucial to the company as it has turned Sina from being a staid old web portal, and brought in a lot of new users who have a high level of disposable income – more so than on Tencent’s microblogging platform.
Tencent now boasts 72.3 million VAS paying accounts across its QQ empire, which shows the huge monetization potential of a virtual currency across a major platform.
[Source: Techweb.com.cn]
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