About 2.3 million Chinese MSN users have added a pattern of "red heart" and the English word "China" in front of their online signatures to show their unity and patriotism.

MSN China spokesman Feng Guangshun released the figure on Thursday. Many more people have opened their MSN accounts to find a message which asked them to add the "red heart" and "China" in front of their signatures.

Feng said he expected the number of participants of this activity, which started Wednesday as a spontaneous patriotic campaign by Chinese Internet users, to raise dramatically in the following few days.

Many overseas Chinese have also taken up the logo. Li Zhen, a student studying at the Mathematics Department of Iowa State University added a dozen "red hearts" to his online signature.

Li said he and other Chinese students at his university printed out signs and logos of Beijing Olympics and put them up at his department to let more people know about Beijing Olympics.

(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2008)