MAJOR domestic web portals are starting to offer blog relocation services to grab Chinese bloggers who have been using Windows Live Spaces.

Microsoft has said it plans to shut down the free blogging and social networkplatform.

Among the alternatives, NetEase is offering a service that boasts simplicity: Users need only type in their Live Spaces blog address and NetEase will let them know in a few hours that the blog has been relocated.

Competing websites Sina.com and Sohu.com are also offering to handle blogs being orphaned by Live Spaces.

According to Sohu's IT channel, 24,000 Live Spaces users applied to relocate their blogs from midday Tuesday to Wednesday night. About half of them successfully relocated their blogs.

Microsoft - which began providing its free blogging service, then called MSN Space, in 2004 - announced earlier this week that it is shutting it down in March 2011.

It plans to shift its almost 30-million users to WordPress.com, according to an announcement on Tuesday on the MSN website.

Chinese users, however, are likely to find it hard to use WordPress.com. Attempts yesterday by Shanghai Daily were frustrated by connection problems.

"We are still working out a way with Chinese blogging companies to help Chinese Live Spaces users transfer their blogs to domestic blogging websites with easier Internet access instead of to WordPress.com," said Wang Yan, a PR official with Microsoft MSN.

Users may still use Live Spaces until March.

Many said they're sad to see the platform go. "I started using the Spaces three years ago," said Ariel Fang, 23. "I used to write diaries on that blog and I'm really very sorry that it has to be closed."

"The Spaces are good to me as they are part of the MSN," said Liu Sen, 24. "Whenever I log on MSN, I can see the updates of my friends on their Spaces.

"I don't know why it is to be shut down, but I'll certainly not relocate my blogs to other websites. That's too complicated."

Fans' dismaynotwithstanding, the closure of Live Spaces appears unlikely to cause many ripples from an industry standpoint.

"The user base of MSN Space on China's mainland isn't so large, so (this shift) won't have a significantimpact on the market share of domestic blog service providers," said Li Zhi, senior analyst at Analysys International, a Beijing-based Internet consultancy.

China Internet Network Information Center said in a report in July that China's bloggers totalled 231 million by the end of June, more than half of the country's total Internet user base. Although that number is huge, the growth rate has slowed as instant messaging and social network websites have mushroomed.

• domestic [də´mestik] a.家庭的；本国的 (初中英语单词)
• platform [´plætfɔ:m] n.(平)台；讲台；站台 (初中英语单词)
• channel [´tʃænəl] n.海峡；航道；途径 (初中英语单词)
• wednesday [´wenzdi] n.星期三 (初中英语单词)
• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• connection [kə´nekʃən] n.联系；关系；联运 (初中英语单词)
• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)
• transfer [træns´fə:] v.&n.迁移；调动；转让 (初中英语单词)
• dismay [dis´mei] n.惊慌 vt.使惊慌 (初中英语单词)
• international [,intə´næʃənəl] a.国际的，世界的 (初中英语单词)
• instant [´instənt] a.立即的 n.紧迫；瞬间 (初中英语单词)
• offering [´ɔfəriŋ] n.提供；礼物；捐献 (高中英语单词)
• simplicity [sim´plisiti] n.简单；朴素 (高中英语单词)
• successfully [sək´sesfəli] ad.成功地 (高中英语单词)
• announcement [ə´naunsmənt] n.通告；宣布；言谈 (高中英语单词)
• access [´ækses] n.接近；通路；进入 (高中英语单词)
• notwithstanding [,nɔtwiθ´stændiŋ] prep.&conj.虽然；还是 (高中英语单词)
• significant [sig´nifikənt] a.重要的；意义重大的 (高中英语单词)
• senior [´si:niə] a.年长的 n.前辈 (高中英语单词)
• network [´netwə:k] n.网状物 vt.联播 (英语四级单词)
• midday [´middei] n.中午 (英语四级单词)
• standpoint [´stændpɔint] n.立场；观点 (英语四级单词)
• mainland [´meinlənd] n.大陆；本土 (英语四级单词)
• applied [ə´plaid] a.实用的，应用的 (英语六级单词)
• unlikely [ʌn´laikli] a.不像的；未必可能的 (英语六级单词)
• impact [´impækt] n.影响，作用；冲击 (英语六级单词)