MUMBAI: Shanghai MSN Network Communications Technology Co Ltd has launched a new portal to deliver MSN messenger content and services to users in China.

Shanghai MSN is a new joint venture between Microsoft Corp's online services division MSN and Shanghai Alliance Investment Ltd.

The announcement was made at a conferece in Beijing, where Microsoft signed nine partnerships to deal with news, online entertainment, auctions, English training, community, and games.

MSN China launched its portal MSN.com.cn, Messenger tab services, and will also launch its search engine service in the months to come.

MSN has announced that it will upgrade Chinese hotmail email accounts to 250 megabytes of storage space later this year.