A worker at the Louvre Museum introduced the Chinese version of the Louvre Museum's website on March 10, 2009. [Xinhua]

The official website of the Louvre Museum in Paris is to launch its Chinese version on March 24, officials from the museum announced at a press conference in early March.

Chinese will become the fourth official language of the Louvre Museum following its versions of French, English and Japanese.

The museum's Chinese website includes four major sections, introductions to the museum, its collections, exhibits and activities, and tour guides.

The Louvre Museum and the National Museum of China are on good terms and the two museums often hold arts and exhibitions jointly.

Chinese tourists are among the major visitors to the Louvre, and the museum will do its best to make their visits convenient, said the head of the multimedia section of the Louvre.

Now that the Chinese version of the museum is online, Chinese tourists can refer to the guide before visiting the museum or browse the collections without even coming to France, he said.

Statistics show that the official website of the Lourve has attracted 10 million viewers every year ever since its revision in 2005. More than 200,000 Chinese tourists visit the museum each year, accounting for about four percent of overseas visitors.

(CRI March 25, 2009)