The Chinese internet has around 338 million users, who are now used to spelling domains in English characters although not always in English words.
The problem may be cyber-squatting, which has already embroiled some Chinese sites in legal battles.
Video website Tudou.com said it has no immediate plans to buy a Chinese domain, as most of its clients are used to spelling its domain in English, and Tudou is easy to remember.
Chinese sites often use the Roman letter-system for domain names like 51job.com, which in Chinese sounds like "I want jobs".