Freerice China: Have Fun, Improve Your Vocabulary And Feed A Hungry!

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Beijing    Do you want to learn and fight hunger at the same time? Did you know that by improving your English vocabulary and general knowledge skills you can feed a hungry child? From today, the Chinese version of world-renowned website Freerice.com will help you do just this. Millions of Chinese speakers worldwide wanting to improve their English and general knowledge can now test their vocabulary and expertise in the worlds of art, chemistry and geography in a fun and challenging way, and help to feed hungry children around the world, thanks to Freerice China (http://freerice.sdo.com) following its launch today by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and its partner, the leading Chinese game company Shanda Games."Freerice has been a global phenomenon in English, French, Italian and Spanish and is now reaching a critical and influential part of the global population," said Nancy Roman, WFP Director of Communications, Public Policy and Private Partnerships. "China has more internet users than any other country in the world - they are curious, ambitious and looking for ways to improve their mastery of English.Freerice China partner Shanda Games is no stranger to the fight against hunger, after helping WFP develop a Chinese version of its award-winning computer game Food Force in 2006. "We have always believed in the internet as a force for good," said Shanda President and CEO Tan Qunzhao. "Young people in particular are looking for games that entertain and educate at the same time. Freerice not only does both - it also allows its players to contribute to the fight against hunger at the same time. We are delighted to be involved with such an innovative and worthwhile product, which has already been so successful in other languages." How does Freerice work? Players face increasingly difficult vocabulary questions and for every correct answer, they earn ten grains of rice, which is donated to WFP and paid for by advertisers on the site. Freerice is also an exciting and innovative social media tool, giving players the ability to create online groups with their relatives, friends and co-workers, taking vocabulary game play and interaction to a new level. Shanda will be promoting the game amongst its tens of millions of registered users. In addition to the Chinese version of the vocabulary game, Freerice China will feature an extra layer of entertainment, with flash games provided by Shanda's network . Originally launched in English in 2007, Freerice.com became an instant viral phenomenon. In its first month, the game had raised enough rice to feed over 50,000 people for a day. Its designer, John Breen, says the programme started out as a simple word game to help his teenage sons prepare for their college entrance exams. Today, Freerice attracts 40,000 players daily (1.3 million per month) who take the fight against hunger online. They have raised almost 100 billion grains of rice, enough to feed 4.8 million people for a day in countries like Haiti, Uganda, Pakistan and Cambodia.