Chinese engineers have developed their thinnest glass yet, only 1.1 millimeters thick.

The transparent white glass, made by the Penglong Super-thin Glass Co. in Qinyang City in Henan Province, central China, is used in electronics, and to make instruments, meters and medical equipment.

Only a handful of countries has made the high-tech product, including Japan, Belgium and Germany.

The glass has passed technical appraisal by experts from the Qinhuangdao Glass Design Institute as being up to international standards.

The company has signed orders for the glass with a number of manufacturers of electronic products, instruments and meters, and medical equipment in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen and elsewhere in China.

The deals involve 110,000 square meters (131,563 square yards) of the glass.

Demand in China for the super-fine glass is at 10 million square meters (12 million square yards). Previously all was imported from overseas.

(People's Daily June 11, 2002)