EBay Inc said yesterday it has started construction of its US$200 million Chinese headquarters in Pudong, Shanghai. When completed in 2007, the 30,000-square-meter facility will be the US-based online auction Website's biggest overseas operation.

　　The facility will house eBay's Chinese headquarters, regional research and development center and customer support center.

　　The building is located in the Shanghai Pudong Software Park in Zhangjiang High-Tech Industry Park, the local version of Silicon Valley.

　　"The huge investment shows eBay's commitment to China with its huge Internet population and booming e-commerce sector," eBay said in a statement.

　　According to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), China's Internet population was more than 103 million as of June 30, an 18.4 percent increase compared with a year ago. The country added 9 million new users in the first half

　　China is currently ranked second globally, both in Internet population and in broadband users. It ranks only behind the United States, CNNIC said.

　　Up until now, more than 20 million people have purchased products online, representing a value of 10 billion yuan (US$1.23 billion), CNNIC said.

　　"The number 100 million is a milestone for the Chinese Internet industry and the large Internet population base will attract foreign companies to fasten their paces to expand in China," said Kelly Huang, an analyst for Shanghai-based Internet consulting firm iResearch Inc, during an earlier interview.

　　Besides its Pudong's operation, eBay will invest US$100 million in China this year, Meg Whitman, eBay's president, said during a visit to Shanghai at the start of the year.

　　Last month, eBay launched its own online payment service "Paypal" in China to provide users with an online trading environment with high security