China launched a website, www.linese.com, on Saturday, offering Mandarin courses and supplementary online materials to meet the surging international demand for Chinese language courses.

Zheng Zhongxiu, head of the website, said "The site features multimedia technologies including on-line interactive courses, virtual communities, and blogs and pods, rather than traditional Mandarin classroom activities."

Users who log on to the site can enter a special virtual community, set in Beijing's Siheyuan, a compound with houses around a square courtyard, where registered users can communicate with each other and learn Chinese through specially designed games.

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