Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) in association with dotMobi (News - Alert) has launched an official mobile site that allows the RCSC to ensure information on supporting relief efforts for earthquake victims reaches the widest possible audience.

 

China currently has more than 600 million mobile users, compared to only 100 million PC-based Internet users.

 

dotMobi, which created the website was among the first companies to donate funds for the May 2008 Sichuan earthquake relief effort.

 

To date, earthquake relief donations received via the RCSC's PC-based Web site have yielded more than 20 million yuan (RMB). Plans are underway now to include "m- commerce" (mobile commerce) capabilities to the website, http://chinaredcross.mobi. Once implemented, the RCSC anticipates doubling the number of donations received.

 

"The http://chinaredcross.mobi site is important in that it establishes a new information channel for us. China has a very large pool of mobile users, and we anticipate that more people will support the RCSC humanitarian initiatives via their mobile phone. We regard our PC-based Web site – and now our mobile Web site – as important channels for our work," said Xiao Xing, director of the RCSC information center, in a statement.

 

The Red Cross Society of the People's Republic of China (RCSC), established in 1904, is a social-assistance organization engaged in humanitarian work as part of the international federation of Red Cross societies.

 

Through the years, the RCSC has made outstanding achievements in helping the Chinese government to support the Geneva Convention as well as helping the overall welfare of the Chinese people. Today, the RCSC has 31 provincial branches plus branches in Macao and Hong Kong along with more than 70,000 grassroots organizations. The RCSC has nearly 20 million members in China.

 

Managing Director of dotMobi Greater China Qian Kun, said, "Globally, mobile Web sites are receiving increased attention from governments and businesses due to the popularity of mobile phones and the improvement of mobile Internet content. Using the mobile Web to disseminate information has unparalleled advantages in emergencies and disasters situations. All of those mobile users can now access http://chinaredcross.mobi, and learn how they can support relief efforts for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake."

 

dotMobi (the informal name of mTLD Top Level Domain Ltd.), a consortium headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is leading the growth of Internet use from mobile phones with the .mobi domain name.

 

Unique among domain name providers, dotMobi ensures that services and sites developed around .mobi are optimized for use by mobile devices. On-the-go consumers can have confidence that a web site will work on their mobile phones when using a .mobi address.

 

dotMobi is backed by leading mobile operators, network and device manufacturers, and Internet content providers, including Ericsson, GSM Association, Hutchison 3, Microsoft, Nokia, Orascom Telecom, Samsung Electronics, Syniverse, T-Mobile (News - Alert), Telefonica Moviles, TIM, Visa and Vodafone.