SHANGHAI: Guanxi, the Chinese word for those elusive but useful connections that could lead to personal or business gain, are just a click away thanks to a Shanghai-based website.

Since its founding in March, Zhike.com has been seeking out the kind of connections that can help people enroll a child in the right primary school, get help from the government with business and even meet a celebrity - for a price.

Several such requests have already been met.

For example, one netizen offered 1,000 yuan ($130) for a photograph with Wang Xiaokun, the winner of the talent show My Show. Another netizen who was allegedly organizing an event with the celebrity said he could help.

Chen Dufeng, the website's founder, said Zhike.com provides a platform for people to network and to match their guanxi with those who are in need. However, the website's front page adds the proviso that it definitely does not encourage the trading of power for money.

Legal experts said they doubted that transactions like those offered on the website would lead to corruption, though some said having connections could be an advantage when looking for a job.

Officials with the Shanghai industrial and commercial administrative bureau said they would keep an eye on the website.

Ten of the 15 requests recently up for bidding on the website were in the category "looking for friends in government".

Three of them were from people who wanted to be connected to teachers at either kindergartens or primary schools. One posted by the user "love5433" said his family had just moved to Shanghai and that he wanted to get his child into a good kindergarten. The post said finding the right kindergarten could be difficult, particularly for people from another province. He offered 1,000 yuan to whoever could help.

A post from the user "mengfei" was seeking connections at the department responsible for medicine purchases at a hospital in Shenzhen, saying he wanted sell the hospital a particular medicine. The post offered 2,000 yuan for an introduction to someone at the department.

Tang Xiaotian, a legal expert, said he was wary of efforts to transform connections into a type of social capital that could be traded.

"What's more, this could lead to the trading of personal information," he was quoted by People's Daily as saying.

Lawyers said the website would be held responsible if its services led to bribery.

But Liu Ping, a human resource manager for a foreign-owned enterprise, said the company would consider good connections an advantage when recruiting new employees.

(China Daily 06/14/2007 page5)