Tudou.com, China's leading video-sharing Website, began focusing on advertising sales this year.

"We launched ads sales at the end of last year and the sector grew very rapidly as we have made great efforts on brand building," said Dan Brody, vice president of Tudou's business development division.

"It's too early to set a profit target as at present we are aiming at increasing revenues and maintaining our leading market shares," he said during the New Media & International Radio, Film & TV Equipment Exhibition yesterday.

Tudou, which is Chinese for "potato", has been a hot item in China's fast growing video-sharing industry, drawing about US$85 million in venture capital in four rounds. The ads market for China's online video Websites is expected to grow 58.2 percent on a yearly basis to 580 million yuan (US$82.86 million) this year, according to the Data Center of China Internet.

Ad sales of video-sharing Websites will be boosted this year as their value is recognized by more advertisers, said Fu Zhihua, director of the center's research department.

The three-day exhibition, which began yesterday, has been a major part of Shanghai TV Festival for the past decade. Nearly 100 exhibitors attended the event.

"The exhibitors will bring us the most advanced software and hardware devices and some of them will release their new products in the event," said Wang Jianqiang, director officer of International Radio, Film & TV Equipment Market.

(Shanghai Daily June 11, 2008)