China has staged its first virtual commodity fair on the Internet to better utilize the convenience of e-commerce to boost foreign trade.

With a website called Yantai Market, the fair is co-sponsored by the eastern China port city of Yantai in Shandong Province and the China International E-Commerce Center under the State Economic and Trade Commission.

The website's homepage provides a name list and details of more than 2,200 products provided by major foreign trade companies, manufacturing enterprises, overseas-funded ventures, and scientific research institutes in Yantai.

The site can be found in some 1,000 domestic and overseas websites via Yahoo and other major Internet content providers. With the site open to more than 180 countries and regions worldwide, the sponsors expect the daily visits to reach 300,000.

Local officials say that the cost of staging a virtual fair is much lower than that for hosting a real one, and the information coverage is broader and swifter.