Korea's online computer game developer and publisher NCsoft has opened a wholly owned subsidiary in Shanghai.

The new company is a result of NCsoft's acquisition of a 51% equity stake in NC Sina, a joint venture formed by NCsoft and Sina.com (SINA) in 2003.

NCsoft China now becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of NCsoft and will strengthen the company's content development and publishing power in the ever-growing Chinese game market.

NCsoft China will not only provide services for existing games created by NCsoft's global network to the Chinese market but also will develop and publish new games that will appeal to Chinese gamers' interests.

NCsoft currently has branch offices in the United States, Europe, Japan, China, Taiwan and Thailand for overseas services. It also has established NCRC (NCsoft Research and Development Center) in Beijing and NCsoft Japan in Osaka.