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As Facebook snaps up smartphone messaging service WhatsApp for a monumental $19 billion in cash and shares, focus has turned to its . Here are some background facts about China's popular mobile messaging application WeChat.

Background:

WeChat, or "Weixin" in Chinese, is a free instant messaging and social media mobile application developed by Chinese Internet giant Tencent and officially launched in January 2011. It has not only become a popular mobile communications tool in China, but has also attracted tens of millions of users in overseas markets.

Users:

The number of monthly active users worldwide reached 272 million as of end-September last year, more than doubling from a year earlier. The company does not specify how many are inside China or overseas.

Features:

WeChat provides text, photo, video and voice messaging services on major mobile platforms. The application has also incorporated a range of new services in its latest versions, including games, online payments and taxi booking. Its parent Tencent bought a 20 percent stake in restaurant listing platform Dianping.

Developer:

Founded in 1998 in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, Tencent is one of the country's largest Internet service providers and rivals domestic search engine giant Baidu and e-commerce platform Alibaba. The company has a Hong Kong listed unit, Tencent Holdings, with a staggering market capitalisation of around HK$1.1 trillion ($140 billion). Besides WeChat, Tencent has a popular instant messaging service in China, QQ, that was launched in 1999.

© 2014 AFP