eBay (EBAY) has formerly announced its launch of online classifieds Web sites in select international markets, including China.

Kijiji is currently available in more than 50 cities in Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan. In China, it is available in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, and Jinan.

Launched on February 28 under the brand Kijiji, the websites give people living and working in the same city a convenient and free way to meet, share ideas, trade goods, and find information or things they want locally.

Kijiji is a start-up within eBay created by a small team of entrepreneurial employees. eBay endorsed the experiment late last year. Alex Kazim, senior vice president of new ventures at eBay, is responsible for the Kijiji initiative.

"Kijiji builds local communities online, giving neighbors a way to come together around local needs and interests," said Kazim. "We're excited about making Kijiji the online neighborhood meeting place for local residents in cities around the world."

Kijiji means "village" in Swahili.