Since the game was launched last June, The9 earned revenues of US$102 million from game playing, related merchandise, and installation packages by the end of the second quarter.

Hack declined to disclose how much his company has made, but said China was one of the top three markets for WoW.

Blizzard Entertainment will also introduce an expansion pack to the game, The Burning Crusade, in order to increase attraction and extend the product's life cycle.

The company worked with another Chinese online game operator, China Cyber Port Co Ltd, to launch successful games like StarCraft, WarCraft and Diablo.

In the online casual game segment, Vivendi Games said in September it acquired Studio Ch'in in Shanghai, which has 49 game developers. The company declined to reveal the acquisition's cost.

Hack said the Shanghai studio, together with its two in Los Angeles and Seattle, will increase the development strength of Sierra Online and will serve as a base for the development of localized games.

"We want to be very careful that the content we bring to this market is local content, especially in casual games," Hack said.

Sierra Online is talking with Chinese casual game operators such as Hong Kong-listed Tencent, the biggest in the Chinese market, about launching some of its popular casual games.

In the world's largest mobile market, with more than 443 million users, mobile games are also an area Hack is interested in.

"We see it as a very interesting opportunity," said Hack.

He said Vivendi Games Mobile is in talks with Chinese service providers such Beijing-based Moloon International Inc, which got investment from the US firm IDGVC Partners.

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