Chinese computer maker Lenovo plans to boost its market share at home by targeting the country's vast rural area.

The company yesterday unveiled a program to sell cheap computers, which cost 1,499 yuan upward, in Chinese villages.

"We plan to bring Lenovo products to 100,000 villages, and make the products affordable for over 3 million families in the rural areas," said Chen Shaopeng, senior vice-president of Lenovo Group and president of Lenovo Greater China.

Lenovo has been tapping the rural market since 2004, when it entered the county and town market by selling computers priced at 2,999 yuan. The expansion in the rural market has doubled the company's growth, said Chen.

The company's campaign echoes the government's call for development of rural China.

China aims to connect its 20,000 towns with Internet by 2010, said Chen Wei, director-general of the department of informatization promotion under the Ministry of Information Industry.

Lenovo plans to sell its products by establishing over 5,000 sales outlets, which could be located in supermarkets. It is also planning to set up over 2,000 information service centers in over 100,000 villages.

(China Daily August 2, 2007)