YouTube Opens Taiwan Site

Google Inc.'s YouTube said Thursday it has launched a version of the video-sharing site in Taiwan in its latest push to expand in foreign markets.

The site features locally produced content, including that from YouTube's four Taiwan media partners, China Television Co., Sanlih E-Television Co., Lion Travel Service Co. and Taiwan Broadcasting System, YouTube said in a statement.

The interface of the site, www.youtube.com.tw, is in Chinese.

YouTube aims to eventually launch localized sites ''in every country, in every language,'' said YouTube's international manager, Sakina Arsiwala. She declined to give a timetable for future launches.

U.S.-based YouTube launched its first Chinese-language Web site in Hong Kong Wednesday, and recently launched local versions of the site in Brazil, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the U.K.

YouTube isn't aiming to make an immediate profit from the Taiwan Web site, Arsiwala said.

''The goal is to get more users engaging in the Web site,'' she said.

YouTube will adopt Google's newly developed ''YouTube Video Identification'' technology in its foreign-language Web sites, as well as in its main global site, said Steve Chen, the site's co-founder.

The new technology, launched Monday, is used to identify potentially copyright-infringing video content.

''We need to work with content providers to collect a database (of video clips),'' Chen said.

YouTube is facing several copyright-infringement lawsuits, including a $1 billion action filed by Viacom Inc. alleging YouTube and Google passed on thousands of videos illegally copied from popular TV shows owned by Viacom.