Shanghai unveils official microblog to serve the public.

The Shanghai municipal government on Monday launched its official microblog, joining an expanding group of Chinese authorities that resort to the popular social networking tool for smarter interaction with the public.

The microblog "Shanghai City" on weibo.com -- a popular microblogging site similar to Twitter -- will serve as a platform to publish government regulations and information of activities, as well as interactions with Internet users over issues of public concern, according to the Information Office of Shanghai Municipal Government (IOSMG), the microblog's initiator.

Within only about 12 hours since the release of its first posting at 8:40 a.m., the microblog has accumulated more than 120,000 followers.

Vegetable prices, the selection of affordable housing, and upcoming cultural activities in Shanghai are included in the first several postings.

"Shanghai City" will become a new channel for the Shanghai municipal government to closely contact with and better serve the public as it tries to conjoin more microblog accounts by government agencies to provide much needed information, said IOSMG head Zhu Yonglei.

On the right column of the webpage are links to other microblogs owned by government agencies in Shanghai.

According to the IOSMG, some 600 government agencies and 300 government officials of various levels in Shanghai have verified weibo accounts.

"Shanghai Metro," the official microblog of the city's metro operator, is considered one of most influential government microblogs in China with over 1.15 million followers.

Shanghai is not the first city to launch official microblog service to the public. Governments of all levels are ambitious to make good use of the medium to better serve the public.

Ten days ago, the Beijing municipal government launched a similar news release platform on the same microblogging service. Twenty municipal government agencies will post newly-unveiled policies and regulations, work developments, and information of news conferences on the joint microblog account.

Microblog is becoming a widely recognized platform and channel for interactions between the government and the public.

According to latest statistics by Internet giant Sina, which operates weibo.com, nearly 10,000 government agencies have opened verified microblog accounts by early November this year.

"The government agencies should not be absent in such a burgeoning public opinion arena as microblog," said Xie Yungeng, deputy director of Institute of Arts and Humanities, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Others however point out that the government-initiated microblogs pose a challenge while they help build up a positive image and credibility.

Liao Shengqing, a journalism and communication professor at the Shanghai-based Fudan University, said microblog is more efficient than the traditional news spokesman platforms as it can respond to breaking events or clarify Internet rumors more quickly.

"The credibility of the governments could be advanced if the microblog is properly used. However, the microblog will also lose its credibility instantly if misleading or disguised information is released," said Liao.

Latest statistics show that China now has more than 300 million registered microblog users among its 485 million Internet users.