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Alibaba offers big data service to local governments by Meng Jing, chinadaily.com.cn

Chinese e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Monday that it will launch a new big data service to help local governments across China improve their decision making process in e-commerce development.

The service, which is expected to be officially rolled out in April, is exclusively available to local governments at all levels in China.

Once they have gained access to the service, government decision makers can search all kinds of e-commerce related statistics, including regional online shopping transactions and the number of packages shipped out of or delivered to their region.

The service is aimed at helping local government decision makers gain a deeper understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of their local e-commerce and the Web economy compared with other regions.

Royal Mail joins hands with Alibaba by Gao Yuan, chinadaily.com.cn

A postman returns to his vehicle at Idsworth near Rowland's Castle in southern England July 10, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

The nearly 500-year-old British postal service Royal Mail is joining the online shopping boom in China by opening a virtual shop on an Alibaba Group Holding Ltd owned site.

Royal Mail will offer Chinese customers increased access to "premium, authentic and high quality" British products, according to the London-based courier.

Moya Greene, CEO of Royal Mail, said the shop will help retailers and exporters expanding into the Chinese market.

It will remove challenges many companies would otherwise face in getting their products into the hands of Chinese customers, including promotion on Chinese e-commerce sites, a local customer support service, customs formalities, documentation, shipping and logistics.

China is the biggest overseas consumer of British products online, accounting for 25 percent of overseas online shoppers buying goods from the UK, according to Royal Mail.