Sina Weibo allows users to log in through Facebook

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2013-07-25

Sina Weibo's homepage, with new Facebook link, upper right.
(Internet photo)

Sina Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, has begun allowing internet users to log in through Facebook and share their Weibo messages, videos and pictures onto the popular social platform.

The move made the microblog service the first major social networking site in China to work with Facebook, although the site is barred from access by the government's infamous firewall. Sina Weibo has begun offering the service on desktop computers and will launch a version for Android and iOS in the near future. Users can also invite their friends on Facebook to open a Sina Weibo account.

The website connects seamlessly with Facebook's developer platform Graph API so that users can now share their messages, videos and pictures on both Sina Weibo and Facebook. They can also share the TV shows and music they watched and listened and their location on both websites.

a Weibo has 530 million registered users around the world, according to its latest financial report. Its Hong Kong division has recently partnered up with local Octopus Cards Limited, which offers a stored value smart card service. Hong Kong users will be able to claim a HK$10 (US$1.2)and HK$100 (US$12) reward if they open Sina Weibo accounts and invite friends to the website before Aug. 11.