Tengtu International Corp. announced today that it's 57% owned joint venture in China, Tengtu United, has signed a cooperation agreement with China Hewlett-Packard to jointly market computer software and hardware products in the Chinese K to 12 education market.

The objective shared by the two companies in entering into this agreement is to accelerate their penetration of the IT solutions market for K to 12 schools across China. The western regions, where the Chinese Ministry of Education has allocated CNY 10 billion to upgrade distance-learning technologies, will be a primary focus of the joint marketing efforts of the two companies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Tengtu United and China Hewlett Packard will jointly market and promote three solutions: the Rural Area Satellite Solution, the Rural Area LAN and the Urban Area Portal for Local Education Bureau. These solutions combine China Hewlett Packard's server and storage devices with Tengtu's educational resources and software. The agreement calls for co-operative advertising and promotion activities, cross training of sales representatives and technical support personnel as well as the creation of a solution demonstration center featuring China Hewlett-Packard servers and related hardware configured with Tengtu's application software. The demonstration center is the first of its kind in China and is designed to allow customers to experience the practical benefits of the system in a simulated school environment.