Singapore, 25 September 2007
- omy (www.omy.sg), Singapore’s most extensive, creative, interactive
and entertaining bilingual web portal, is officially launched today!
omyis
the latest new media venture by leading media group Singapore Press
Holdings (SPH). The easy-to-use bilingual portal provides a
navigation-friendly environment even for users who are not familiar
with surfing the Internet in Chinese. For most Singaporeans who are
comfortable speaking Mandarin but are not used to reading Chinese, they
can make use of the portal’s unique "text-to-speech" function which
allows them to listen to news articles being read out in Chinese. Click
on the "Listen" icon and they will hear the audio version of the news
article. In addition, the Chinese articles have a "roll-over text"
function which display hanyu pinyin pronunciation to help readers read
Chinese words.
Mr Chua Chim Kang, Editor of
omy,says:
"Currently, most Singaporeans are accustomed to surfing the Internet in
English and are missing out on a lot of interesting Chinese content
available in the World Wide Web. With its visual-led navigation and
bilingual interface,
omyhopes to be the gateway to the Chinese web for all".
For those who prefer visuals to text,
omyoffers
an exciting range of vodcast content from the latest news on current
issues, lifestyle, fashion, beauty, IT, shopping and showbuzz. There
are also exciting online games for those who like challenges, and other
interactive features such as geoblogging (blogging based on
geographical locations), bilingual forums and sections for users to
submit their own videos and photographs.
Targeted at online users from 18 to 35 years old,
omyengages
users through new media channels they are familiar with, via SMS, MMS,
vodcast, podcast, Internet forum and blogs. It empowers users by
providing an interactive platform for them to share their views and
opinions with other users, as well as the
omyeditorial team.
Two weeks before its public launch, the portal’s publicity campaign has
already created a buzz amongst the online community with an online
teaser game 75858 抢先拍.
The online game 75858 抢先拍, launched on 13 September, requires players
to snap photos using their computer mouse to capture various incidents
on an illustrated landscape. Players earn points at the end of the
game. The top ten players, announced today on
omy,walked
away with Sony Ericcson mobile phones. The numbers 75858 is omy’s SMS
hotline for users to send their news lead or photos to.
More than 6500 registered users have played the online game since its
launch, and the game was ranked in the top five position by Hitwise
under the "Entertainment-Competitions" category during this period.
omycurrently enjoys close to a total of 340,000 pageviews with an average session duration close to half an hour.
Promotional Activities
A series of promotional activities has been lined up following today’s public launch:
敢Snap，就有fun! - Users are invited to take pictures of 30
omymodels who will parade along Orchard Road on 29 September (Saturday) and MMS their pictures to
omysms hotline 75858. The five best photo entries will each win a digital camera.
Lips in Sync 嘴星一族
- Users are invited to send in their own lip-sync videos to omy’s
Showtime section. Weekly winners who are selected will each win a mp3
player. The grand winner, determined by votes from
omyusers, stand to walk away with the grand prize - a laptop.
Public Launch Event at VivoCity - A full-day event will be held on 6 October for the public to experience the fun and excitement of
omyand to meet the
omyteam. More details will be announced closer to the event.
More on omy
There are 12 sections in
omyincluding
news, citizen journalism, showbiz, My Lifestyle, Eat!, Multimedia,
Playground, Showtime, Y-zone, Forum, Blog and Lobang.
News
It offers the hottest local and international news of the day.
omy,in
addition to its own editorial team, also has the strong backing of
SPH’s group of Chinese newspapers. News content are incorporated from
all SPH’s Chinese newspapers.
Citizen Journalism
omyusers are encouraged to become an editorial staff by submitting news leads or photographs to the bilingual site.
Showbiz
From the hottest news in the entertainment scene to the latest movie
trailers and music reviews, Showbiz has it all.
My Lifestyle
Vodcasts on the latest fashion, beauty, IT, Cars, shopping and other lifestyle trends are uploaded.
Eat!
A section on eating places and food including vodcasts and articles.
There is also a food search function using names of dishes and venues
as key words.
Multimedia
A one-stop media centre for users who are looking for visual content.
All the vodcasts, podcasts and photo galleries are "housed" and
archived here.
Lobang
Powered by Google Earth, this section offers users a virtual map of
Singapore to share all their "lobangs" such as food reviews, bloggers’
and users’ comments on the latest happenings.
Showtime
Users can submit their videos and photos here to be rated by other users.
Playground
Living up to its name, this cyber playground offers 100 free-to-play
online flash games which are constantly updated. Fans of English
Premier League soccer matches can participate in the score prediction
game where users earn points to exchange for prizes. There is also
daily horoscope readings.
Y-Zone
This is a newsroom managed by student journalists from various tertiary
institutions. They will write on youth topics for the younger users.
Blogs
Blogs of your various omy journalists can be found here, as well as
celebrity blogs such as David Gan who offers hairstyling tips. You can
also find blogs of various celebrity fan clubs from Jay Chou, S.H.E and
Wang Lee Hom.
Forum
A place for users to air their views in both English and Chinese.
Issued by Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Co. Regn. No: 198402868E
For more information, please contact:
Tan Leng Tuan
Journalist
omy
Singapore Press Holdings
Tel: 6319 2356
Email:
nengduan@sph.com.sg
Francis Mah
Manager
Corporate Communications
Singapore Press Holdings
Tel: 6319 1028
Email:
mahys@sph.com.sg
About Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
Newspapers and Magazines
Main board-listed Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) is the leading
media company in Singapore, delivering news and information through
print, Internet and broadcasting platforms. In Singapore, it publishes
14 newspapers in four languages. Every day, 2.7 million individuals or
83 percent of people above 15 years old, read one of SPH’s news
publications. SPH also publishes over 90 magazine titles in Singapore
and the region, covering a broad range of interests from lifestyle to
information technology.
Internet and Mobile
Beyond print, the Internet editions of SPH newspapers enjoy over 110
million pageviews with 7 million unique visitors every month. Apart
from SPH AsiaOne portal, SPH´s online and new media initiatives include
a revolutionary mobile advertising and information service, ZapCode;
recruitment and job search service, ST701; and STOMP (Straits Times
Online Mobile Print), a portal that connects, engages and interacts
with readers on the Web and via mobile phone messaging.
Broadcasting
SPH has a 20 percent stake in MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, which
operates free-to-air channels 5, 8, U and TV Mobile, and a 40 percent
stake in MediaCorp Press Pte Ltd, which publishes the free newspaper,
Today. In the radio business, SPH has a 80 percent stake in SPH
UnionWorks Pte Ltd, which operates entertainment stations Radio 100.3
FM in Mandarin and Radio 91.3 FM in English.
Outdoor Advertising
In addition, SPH has ventured into outdoor advertising through its
wholly-owned subsidiary, SPH MediaBoxOffice Pte Ltd, Singapore´s
largest outdoor motion display advertising network media company, and a
35 percent stake in TOM Outdoor Media Group, a leading outdoor
advertising company in China.
Properties
SPH owns and manages Paragon, the prime retail and office complex in
the heart of Orchard Road, Singapore’s main shopping belt. SPH’s
wholly-owned subsidiary, Times Development Pte Ltd, is also developing
a 43-storey upmarket residential condominium, Sky@eleven, at Thomson
Road.