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Bandai Networks, the Mobile Internet Subsidiary of Japanese Manufacturer of ''Power Rangers'' and ''Hello Kitty'' Toys, Bandai Co., Teams up with SINA to Provide Digital Character Content to Mobile Phones in China.


Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SHANGHAI, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2003

SINA Corporation SINA Corporation (新浪公司) (NASDAQ: SINA) is an online media company for China and Chinese communities around the world. SINA operates four major business lines: SINA.com, SINA Mobile, SINA Online, and SINA.net. SINA has over 94.  (Nasdaq:SINA), a leading online media company and value-added information service provider for China and for global Chinese communities, announced today that it has formed a strategic alliance with Bandai Networks, a subsidiary of the third largest toy company in the world, Bandai Co. Ltd., to provide digital character content to mobile phones in China. Established as a subsidiary of Bandai Co. Ltd. in September of 2000, Bandai Networks builds on its parent company's strength in character merchandising along with its own expertise in server management and applications to operate a wide variety of mobile phone and Internet content services. Some of the most popular properties and brands of Bandai Groups include the Power Rangers This article lists fictional characters from the Power Rangers universe who have served as Power Rangers. Unlike the List of Power Rangers characters, which lists serving Power Rangers alphabetically alongside other characters from the same fictional universe, this article lists only , Gundam, Digimon, Strawberry Shortcake
This article refers to the character; for the dessert, see shortcake.


Strawberry Shortcake is a licensed character owned by American Greetings, originally used in greeting cards and expanded to include dolls, posters, and other products.
 and Hello Kitty product lines. To date, Bandai Networks boasts 4 million fee-based users to its domestic pay mobile phone services in Japan. It has the largest number of subscribers as a Mobile Contents Provider at present.

The first project of the venture will begin on May 30, 2003, providing digital character images and content to mobile phones using the SMS (1) (Storage Management System) Software used to routinely back up and archive files. See HSM.

(2) (Systems Management Server) Systems management software from Microsoft that runs on Windows NT Server.
 (Short Messaging See SMS.  Service) system. SINA will offer server operation and customer service while Bandai Networks will provide for content planning and development. China's Short Messaging Service (SMS) usage, brought about by the rapid adoption of mobile phones, has experienced rapid growth in the past two years with volume growing from 16 billion messages sent in 2001 to 95 billion messages sent in 2002 and is expected to reach 200 billion in 2003.

"This represent an important strategic alliance for SINA's wireless business," says CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board.  of SINA, Wang Yan Wang Yan is the name of the following:
  • Wang Yan, a 10th-century emperor of Former Shu.
  • Wang Yan, a Chinese race walker.
  • Wang Yan, a Chinese track cyclist.
  • Wang Yan, a Chinese sepaktakraw player.
  • Wang Yan, a Chinese actress
. "Bandai's know-how in character merchandising will further strengthen SINA's wireless offerings, which has already proved to be a success for us." For the quarter ending March 31, 2003, SINA's SMS revenues grew 165% from the previous quarter to $9.2 million. The growth in mobile short messaging services has also helped to transform SINA from a dominant portal to a leading online/mobile media company with multiple inter-dependent business lines. The partnership with Bandai confirms management's commitment in expanding SINA's Wireless business.

About Bandai Co. Ltd.

Bandai Co. Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan is comprised of 53 subsidiaries in 18 countries. In addition to toys and children's entertainment, Bandai Co.'s global interests include video game software, multimedia, music and full-length feature films, vending machines, trading cards, candies and licensed apparel. Bandai Co. Ltd is traded on the Nikkei Exchange in Japan with a #1 ranking.

About SINA

SINA (Nasdaq:SINA) is the leading online media and value-added information service ("VAS vas (vas) pl. va´ sa  [L.] vessel.va´sal

vas aber´rans 
1. a blind tubule sometimes connected with the epididymis; a vestigial mesonephric tubule.

2.
") provider for China and for global Chinese communities. With a branded network of localized Web sites targeting Greater China and overseas Chinese A list of famous people with Chinese ancestry living outside of the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China. Leaders and politicians
Asia
  • Steve Chia, politician, Singapore 谢镜?
, SINA operates three major business lines including SINA.com (online media and entertainment service), SINA Online (consumer fee-based online and wireless VAS) and SINA.net (small and medium-sized enterprises VAS), providing an array of services including online portals, premium email, wireless short messaging, virtual ISP An ISP that uses the facilities and services (servers, switches, backbone, etc.) of a large ISP, but retains its own branding for marketing and billing purposes. Virtual ISPs are often formed to target a specific group, whether by location, profession, language or other subject of common , search, classified information, online games, e-commerce, e-learning and enterprise e-solutions.

To learn more about SINA, please log on to our corporate Web site at http://corp.sina.com.

Safe Harbor Safe Harbor

1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated.

2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive.
 Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. We may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in our periodic reports to the Securities and Exchange commission on forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, etc., in our annual report to shareholders, in our proxy statements, in our offering circulars and prospectuses, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by our officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current plans, estimates and projections, and therefore you should not place undue reliance on them. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, SINA historical losses, limited operating history, uncertain regulatory landscape in the People's Republic People's Republic
n.
A political organization founded and controlled by a national Communist party.
 of China, fluctuations in quarterly operating results, the potential impact of SARS on the Company's business operations Business operations are those activities involved in the running of a business for the purpose of producing value for the stakeholders. Compare business processes. The outcome of business operations is the harvesting of value from assets , the Company's reliance on wireless short messaging service and online advertising sales for a majority of its revenues, the Company's reliance on mobile operators in China to provide wireless short messaging service, any failure to successfully develop and introduce new products and any failure to successfully integrate acquired businesses. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in SINA's prospectus, 10-K, 10-Q and in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Publication:Business Wire
Geographic Code:9CHIN
Date:May 29, 2003
Words:786
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