Chinese Internet portal Sina.com (SINA) says it is sponsoring Nokia's (NOK) ongoing mobile multiplayer games competition to support the search for new game developer in the Chinese market.

As a result of Sina joining the competition, Nokia announced that the deadline for accepting mobile game concepts based on the SNAP Mobile platform has been extended to September 24. Selected concepts based on SNAP Mobile will receive free development support and preparation for market deployment.

Developers interested in joining the Mobile Rules! Multiplayer Competition and receiving free developer support should submit concepts based on SNAP Mobile by September 24. Beta versions of multiplayer games based on any platform can also be submitted by January 25, 2008 as long as they include fully working multiplayer gaming functionality and backend technology.