Consumers purchasing iPads at an Apple store in Beijing on Sept 17, 2010,?at the official Chinese launch of the popular tablet computer. [Photo/China Daily]

Apple Inc will launch specific features for users in China in its next-generation operating systems for the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers.

The new functions include the Mandarin and Cantonese versions of the Siri voice assistant as well as a photo album that supports Sina Weibo, Apple said at its annual developer conference in San Francisco on Monday - the first Apple conference to introduce functions specifically for the Chinese market.

Sina Weibo, one of the most popular social tools in China, attracts more than 300 million users and hosts about 100 million new posts every day.

Other features also include easier Chinese language input, a new dictionary, new default search tool Baidu and support for video site Youku Tudou.

Users can download the new systems, now available for developers only, within one or two months.

Apple plans to penetrate the growing Chinese mobile Internet market by adding these Chinese features in the new operating systems, industry insiders said.

Apple said in April that robust sales of the iPhone in China helped to nearly double the firm's profit to US$11.62 billion in its fiscal second quarter ended in March.

Apple also looks forward to opening 25 branded retail stores in China in one or two years. At present, the company has two in Beijing, three in Shanghai and one in Hong Kong.

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