Tudou, a name almost marginalized in China's internet world, announced plans last week to make an eye-catching comeback as a power in the field of online short videos.

According to He Xiaopeng, head of the newly launched platform for short videos (defined as video clips shorter than 25 minutes), about 2 billion yuan ($290 million) will be invested to encourage individual users to provide better original content on Tudou. For example, the high-quality content providers, who own at least five channels and attract 100 million clicks within three months, could be eligible for a bonus of 1 million yuan.

Once China's second-largest online video broadcaster, in 2012 Tudou merged into the industry's leader at that time, Youku.

Nevertheless, the new Tudou.com will probably borrow little but the name from its predecessor: It will focus on short videos for mobile devices and mix content creation with online shopping, backed by internet conglomerate Alibaba. It is designed to interact with China's major online shopping platforms like Taobao.

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