Software king Microsoft Corp aims to boost its China Internet presence next month when it rolls out a mainland version of its combined Web browser/Internet portal MSN Explorer. ``This integrates everything,'' including Microsoft's Hotmail and instant messaging products, a browser, and access to a tailored-for-China version of the MSN portal, said Celia Chong Wu, general manager for Microsoft's MSN operations in Asia. She noted that the China-targeted site will be hosted in the United States, meaning its Web address -- china.msn.com -- does not carry the .cn suffix. ``I'd be surprised if there were any regulatory issues,'' she said in an interview. Foreign firms are not allowed to own Chinese Internet content providers, although many foreign sites are accessible and popular in the mainland. Beijing sporadically blocks foreign Web sites carrying content it considers politically sensitive, including cnn.com and nytimes.com. Chong said content on the mainland-focused MSN site will be mostly technical at first -- heavy on Microsoft product information. The site will not initially carry news.
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