Questions have been raised over the auctioning of a QQ number on a domestic Web site, the Daily Sunshine reported Thursday.

The number, 88888, for an instant Internet messenger, QQ, was being auctioned on a domestic Web site with bidding reaching 112,000 yuan (US$13,532) Wednesday and still rising, the Daily report said.

Like the well-known international instant messenger ICQ, QQ had become popular in China in recent years and it is becoming more difficult to register a favorable number.

The number, 88888, which is regarded as a very lucky number among Chinese because its pronunciation is close to the pronunciation of fortune, was said to belong to Ma Huateng, the CEO of QQ supplier, Tencent.

Ma said money raised from the auction, would be donated to the tsunami survivors in Southeast Asian countries.

The winning bid would not only be entitled to use the number for life, but would also be eligible for other favorable policies using QQ messenger, Ma said.

However, many people were questioning how to define the ownership of virtual products existing only in cyberspace, such as the number of a messenger, as there was no related law on the issue in China, said a senior lawyer who declined to be named.

A man surnamed Lu, who is a big fan of online chatting, had paid 2,400 yuan for QQ number 98765 from another man on a Web site March 8, 2004. But a fortnight later, he could not log in with the number and Tencent told him the number has been confiscated because it had been stolen.

Considering the messenger number his personal property, which he had paid for, Lu was very angry, accusing Tencent of infringing on his property rights.

But an official at Tencent said QQ numbers, which do not have the characteristics of property, was a code for service offered to their customers.

According to Tencent's regulation concerning the messenger service, ownership of any QQ number belongs to the company. The clients can use it only after registration. If a QQ number is transferred or sold, the company has the right to confiscate it.

Lu filed a lawsuit at a Futian District court in November 2002 but was told that QQ numbers were not personal property and Lu did not have ownership.

"As long as the property is legal, we will accept it as a donation," said Shao, director of the press office of China Charity Federation. But he refused to further comment on the issue.

The number 88888 together with another 6 "valuable" numbers are being auctioned and all money raised from the auction would be donated to Red Cross Society.

(Shenzhen Daily January 14, 2005)