MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) has announced that its youth series Sufei‘s Diary has generated over 15.3 million online interactions.

The series was produced by SPTI through its joint venture with China film group, Huaso Film/Television Digital Production Company Limited (Huaso).

The series debuted across China in mid-December 2008. The 40-episode multiplatform series follows the adventures of 18-year-old Sufei as she adjusts to her new life in Shanghai with her father and stepmother after moving there from Beijing to attend university.

According to SPTI, Sufei‘s Diary is viewed online daily via portals such as Sina.com, online video-sharing site Youku.com and nationwide university broadband network, Cernet.com. In addition to social-networking websites, Sufei‘s Diary is also shown on television screens in some of China‘s major airports and it will also play on screens in public buses and subway stations in Beijing and Shanghai (subway only).

Viewers are encouraged to interact with the show through weekly online polls to help guide Sufei in some of the difficult decisions she has to make. The choice with the most votes affect the storyline of the next episode. Besides the weekly online voting, viewers can also interact with the series and its main characters in a myriad of ways such as online comments, blogs and through updates on their mobile phones. So far, the show has already attracted over 15.3 million such interactions, SPTI claims.

SPTI VP, production Mary Chan says, "We believe the show is not only entertaining, but the level of interaction offered by the show towards our advertising partners‘ brands is something which cannot be replicated by traditional television programs. That is why we are already talking to advertisers at this early stage about innovative brand integrations for season two of the show".

Sony Pictures Entertainment, China chief representative Jiande Chen adds, "We are very pleased that Huaso has been able to take a global format and successfully adapt it in China to create branded entertainment which appeals to both viewers and advertisers."