BEIJING, March 20 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- PacificNet, Inc.
(Nasdaq: PACT), a leading provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), mobile internet, e-commerce and gaming technology in China, announced today that it has become the official designated telecom and mobile provider for the "2007 World Series of Mahjong", which is organized by World Mahjong Ltd. (WML). The first annual World Series of Mahjong will be held at the fabulous Wynn Hotel and Casino in Macau from June 15-17, 2007. The three-day tournament will gather the best mahjong players in the world, competing for the Mahjong World Championship and the guaranteed minimum purse of US $1,000,000, the largest cash prize in the history of tournament mahjong. This large prize is expected to become a hot topic among mahjong players and will promote the game of mahjong worldwide this year.
(Logo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/200611281258.jpg)
WML held the official launch press conference at the Hong Kong Four Seasons Hotel on March 15, 2007. Mr. John Hardyment, CEO of WML, welcomed all the guests and expressed his sincere thanks to the various sponsors of the tournament, including 3Q1mj.com, Cityline, Blue Girl Beer, and PacificNet (official telecom and mobile provider).
Tony Tong, Chairman and CEO of PacificNet, commented, "We are delighted to be the designated telecom and mobile provider for the mahjong competition with the largest purse in the world. With an estimated 100 million mahjong players worldwide, mahjong is considered to be the national pastime game of China and it is the most widely played gambling game in the world, especially in China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and most Asian countries."
PacificNet plans to promote the World Series of Mahjong online and via mobile internet portals with many of its operating subsidiaries and internet/mobile partners such as PacificNet Games (PacGames), WAP.MOABC.com, iMobile.com.cn, 18900.com, GZ3G, vs366.com, and Clickcom.com.cn among others. PacificNet's subsidiary, MOABC.com, is a leading mobile internet portal in China with 11 million registered users and boasts one of the top-ranked mobile internet sites, featuring mobile social networking, mobile games, and entertainment. This free WAP portal provides a variety of mobile internet services such as news, mobile gaming and entertainment services, mobile blogs, mobile email (Mo-Mail), Avatar and virtual pets, mobile online dating, mobile instant messaging, virtual communities, mobile social communities and virtual showrooms to China's increasing mobile phone and internet user base.
"With over 11 million registered users, MOABC is a well-known brand and top-ranked mobile internet site providing fun and entertaining mobile social networking services to the all-important demographic of young and trendy mobile users in China," said Victor Choy, Vice President of PacificNet. "We believe that China's mobile gaming and entertainment market will surge in the coming years as a result of the expected launch of 3G services. We expect strong synergies between the World Series of Mahjong and PacificNet's group of companies in the mobile e-commerce and gaming areas."
According to industry forecasts, mobile online games will become vastly more popular with the advent of 3G networks in China. Forecasts frequently note that online and offline mobile gaming differs greatly in terms of their service models. Online gaming uses a telecom service model earning revenues from traffic fees during play, while offline mobile gaming is simply a game application downloaded onto a handset for a small fee. The forecasts predict strong growth for WAP, JAVA and BREW, while the proportion of SMS-enabled games will drop. With over 400 million mobile phone users, China has already become the largest mobile population in the world. Moreover, the number of mobile users is still growing rapidly and has far exceeded the number of pc-based internet users, which is about 120 million, in China.
About the World Series of Mahjong
The World Series of Mahjong is a 3-day, single-elimination format tournament. Please visit the official website www.world-series-mahjong.com for rules, format, scoring system and schedule of play. The registration fee is a non-refundable sum of US $5,000. Payment of the fee will guarantee a player's seat at the tables and a chance to win one of the cash prizes. Prizes will be awarded to the top 32 players. The tournament will be held at the fabulous Wynn Macau Hotel and Casino on June 15-17, 2006. All tournament functions will take place in the hotel's Grand Ballroom and function rooms on the second floor.
About PacificNet
PacificNet Inc. (Nasdaq: PACT) (http://www.PacificNet.com) is a leading provider of telecom value-added services, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), mobile internet, e-commerce and gaming technology in China. PacificNet's clients include the leading telecom companies, banks, insurance, travel, marketing and business services companies and telecom consumers in Greater China. PacificNet's corporate clients include China Telecom, China Mobile, Unicom, PCCW, Hutchison Telecom, Bell24, Motorola, Nokia, SONY, TCL, Huawei, American Express, Citibank, HSBC, Bank of China, Bank of East Asia, DBS, TNT, Hong Kong Government, and leading hotel- casinos in Macau and Asia. PacificNet employs over 1,400 staff in its various subsidiaries throughout China with offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Macau, and branch offices in 28 provinces in China and has headquarters in Beijing and Hong Kong.
PacificNet Games Limited (PacGames), is a leading provider of Asian multi-player electronic gaming machines, gaming technology solutions, gaming related maintenance, IT and distribution services for the leading hotel, casino and slot hall operators based in Macau, China and other Asian gaming markets. PacGames products include multi-player electronic gaming machines (EGM), slot machines, server-based downloadable games systems, Video Lottery Terminals (VLT) and bingo machines, including hardware, software, and client-server systems.
Safe Harbor Statement:
This Company's announcement contains forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in PacificNet's Form 10K and other filings with the SEC.
