China's highest traffic portal QQ.com recently announced its partnership with the "Olympics of the piano world" – the Oberlin International Piano Competition in the United States. The preliminary round in China for the Oberlin Competition has now come to a close. The young pianists who passed the preliminary competition qualified to attend the finals and festival in the U.S. and have each received the Tencent Music Education Scholarship for Young Artists.

As a partner of The Forren School of Music Beijing which sponsors the competition QQ.com is providing exclusive Internet support throughout the competition. Pianists and their families will have access to online competition information and schedules in real time and competitors will be able to exchange their experiences and feelings through QQ groups and Qzone blogs. What has made competitors particularly excited is the Tencent Music Education Scholarship for Young Artists – the first scholarship dedicated to music education provided by a domestic Internet enterprise in China. This award gives competitors a real opportunity to receive a first-class music education and make their dreams come true.

Commenting on the partnership renowned Conductor and The Forren School of Music Beijing Educational Director Fan Tao said that QQ.com had a huge influence on Internet users and that this joint program would no doubt increase awareness for music and art education for children. Fan Tao will also be a judge in the final contest of this Oberlin Competition.

Internationally recognized violinist Chai Liang who also directs programs at the school said that Tencent has continuously provided generous support for the healthy development of young people and carefully designed its Children's Channel an initiative indicative of the company's strong sense of responsibility and mission. Chai Liang remarked: "I hope that more people with insight can care about and support music education for kids."

For many years now Tencent has paid special attention to the healthy development of children and teenagers by providing pleasant and healthy Internet services that can engage them. In recent years the portal introduced a series of "online safety" training programs targeted at youth users and in early 2007 QQ.com launched the Children's Channel as an online green community and platform. Commenting on this new partnership QQ.com Editor-in-chief Chen Quhong said "This is another activity through which we show our care for kids and their positive development. In the future we expect to develop more partnerships along these lines. We hope that with QQ.com's reach we can raise more awareness for the healthy development of young people." She also stated that the Internet economy had entered an age of "economy of influence" characterized by diversified and individualized community development with an emphasis on creativity and interactivity. This trend is one of the pillars in Tencent's recently launched brand strategy known as "high response and great influence." The timing of this partnership marks the company's willingness to implement its new strategy in a meaningful way and increase the influence of the Internet on children's education.

Industry insiders pointed out that Internet companies had often obtained "exclusive Internet support rights" for commercial and entertainment events and activities in the past but this is the first time a domestic Internet enterprise endorses a world-class music competition.

The Forren School of Music Beijing is a leading music education organization in China and an enrolment agency and partner of many music academies worldwide and frequently hosts international academic exchanges. The school's collaboration with the Oberlin Conservatory of Music has allowed more young Chinese performers to participate in the Oberlin Competition. To date 13 Oberlin Competitions have been organized and the Oberlin Piano Competition and Festival is a top event in the international piano world. During the event the greatest young musical talents from around the world come together to engage in the highest level of music and art exchange and have a great time doing it.