The project, backed by the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) and the China Electronic Commerce Association (CECA), will first focus on North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Wang Ping, deputy secretary-general of the CECA said at a launch ceremony in Beijing.

"We are aiming to spread the benefits of China's informatization to people who live in China's less-developed areas," said Wang, noting that the CECA will establish a unified e-commerce platform on which companies from across the country will be able to seek business opportunities.

Beijing Jinkou E-commerce Company Ltd, one of the largest business-to-customer (B2C) companies in China, was chosen to undertake the project.

According to iResearch, a domestic consulting firm, the turnover of China's B2C market last year reached 5.6 billion yuan (US$710 million), an increase of 33 per cent year-on-year. The firm estimated that the market would enjoy an average annual growth rate of 52 per cent until 2010, when the market turnover is expected to hit 46 billion yuan (US$5.8 billion).

However, experts say the rapid growth was primarily driven by the booming B2C market in China's big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. People who live in China's inland and rural areas have little access to e-commerce facilities, partly due to the lack of the Internet services, personal computers and adequate technological know-how.

But Li Shihong, president of Bejing Jinkou E-Commerce Company Ltd, said he believed that e-commerce should not only be the privilege of city dwellers. "In China's large rural areas, e-commerce business could achieve the same success."

Earlier this year, Li's company signed an agreement with local governments in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, under which the company will help to promote Guangxi's local specialities on the Internet.

"Our co-operation with local governments in Guangxi has been a great success," said Li. "We are going to adopt this co-operation model in other rural areas across the country," he added.

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