Instant communications service provider Tencent will cooperate with the Industrial Bank Company to launch a virtual credit card, the first of its kind in China.

The parties plan to have the new credit card, QQ Show Card, combined with Tencent's online payment platform Tenpay to create a new online payment option for users.

Different from virtual credit cards launched in overseas countries that are not tangible cards and can not be used for overdrafts, QQ Show Card is attached to a tangible card and it can be used to prepay for shopping items or online value-added services after being connected with a user's QQ number.

Earlier this year, Tencent launched a QQ debit card "All-in-One Card" in cooperation with China Merchants Bank.

QQ's Q coins have caused a lot of disputes recently since some people believe that it will threaten the CNY status. Analysts say that the launching of this virtual credit card will to some extent help reduce the negative effect that QQ's Q coins have imposed on CNY.