America Online said Monday it plans to begin webcasting Chinese-language news, sports, and other TV programs this week in a partnership with the broadband content arm of Shanghai Media Group, known as SMG Broadband, and MediaZone.

The shows will air on the Chinese-language web site that AOL set up in February with MediaZone, a Redwood City, California-based company, to attract Chinese American users in the United States. MediaZone specializes in providing high-speed Internet video programming for Chinese viewers and runs ChinaPortal.com.

MediaZone is a division of MIH Ltd., which in turn is a subsidiary of Naspers. Shares of Naspers remained unchanged at $22.33 in recent trading, while shares of Time Warner, AOL’s parent company, fell $0.16 to $16.81.

The deal with Shanghai Media Group should expand the range of content available to AOL’s Chinese-language users and may also attract more users from within China. The programming will include webcasts of sports events involving Chinese teams, as well as entertainment shows.

SMG plans to offer more than three hours of programs per day through the site, according to the Associated Press.

The state-owned company, formed from the merger of several government-owned radio and TV stations in Shanghai, is the only one licensed to provide web-based TV service in China. Its parent company is Shanghai Media and Entertainment Group, which is also involved in the movie and theater business.

This isn’t AOL’s first venture in China. Back in 2001, AOL formed a $200-million venture with the computer maker Lenovo, but ended it in 2003.

Aiming for the U.S. and Beyond

The AOL site will be available in China and other parts of the world, but it is targeted at a U.S. audience.

“The web site is available globally, but the primary focus is really Chinese Americans in the United States since that is a very large and important demographic,” said AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham. “We are looking to superserve as many audiences as we can with our free portal.”

He characterized the service as an extension of AOL’s strategy to provide more content on the web through its portals.

Mr. Graham does not anticipate that the site will run into the kinds of censorship controversies that have dogged Google and Yahoo in China, even though it is partnering with a state-owned media company.

“AOL is a global company with a global brand and we have global aspirations,” he said. “We are interested in pursuing opportunities across many countries. Asia continues to be important to us and we will continue to pursue opportunities there and engage in a dialogue.”

Going from Narrow to Broadband

MediaZone has been providing narrowband Chinese content to AOL, such as photos, graphics, headline news, sports, finance, and entertainment, but the new broadband services include audio and video programming, according to MediaZone COO Michelle Wu.

The news on both the narrowband and broadband services includes content from Mainland China, as well as Taiwan and Hong Kong. MediaZone also plans to add Chinese-language content produced in North America. The video and audio will be refreshed on almost a daily basis and will include up to 200 videos.

The broadband entertainment content includes full-length feature films, documentaries, interview shows, music, cultural and lifestyle programs, TV dramas, audio books, opera, and children’s programs. The TV drama series may run anywhere from 20 up to 100 episodes.

Sports content includes football, basketball, volleyball, badminton, and table tennis coverage. The offerings from AOL and MediaZone include both free and paid content. “We have a huge library and we have access to extensive content offerings,” said Ms. Wu.

She does not foresee problems with censorship from Chinese authorities and emphasizes that the content is aimed primarily at overseas Chinese. She distinguishes the portal from AOL’s China strategy, which is still being formulated.

“Today the content is not censored, but it is targeting the overseas Chinese,” said Ms. Wu. “We do get content from companies like Shanghai Media Group, which is state-owned. They have a channel to voice their official point of view. But the users are free to choose to watch or read the content from Shanghai Media or from other sources.”

MediaZone and its parent companies also provide content for other international markets and expatriates from those markets, including South Africa, Latin America, Europe, India, and Pakistan. Besides AOL, the company also has deals with EchoStar, Fox, and the Outdoor Life Network.