China's first international online book expo started in Beijing Friday, attracting hundreds of foreign and domestic publishers.
The China International Online Book Expo was sponsored by the China International Publishing Group and jointly organized by www.china.org.cn, the China International Book Trading Corporation andwww.guojishudian.com.
The expo, scheduled to run till Oct. 9, has attracted 449 foreign publishers including such big names as McGraw-Hill and 374domestic publishers including the People's Publishing House and Commercial Publishing House.
At the website expo.cnokay.com, Internet surfers can access 1.2million pieces of information on Chinese books and one million on foreign books. Over 120,000 books are listed online and a series of book exhibitions, sales and copyright trading activities will be held online during the expo period.
Liu Binjie, deputy director of the General Administration of Press and Publications, said at Friday's opening ceremony that theonline expo provides an excellent platform for bridging gaps between domestic and foreign publishers.