CHINA: The Teletubbies will start speaking Mandarin this month when the popular children's programme is aired on prime time Chinese television for the first time.
The voices of Tinky Winky, Dipsy, La La and Po will all be dubbed into Chinese as the series is set to take the country by storm.
Central Television will broadcast the half-hour show, distributed by BBC Worldwide, three nights a week on its children-focused channel CCTV 7, according to a spokesman.
The show, owned by Ragdoll Productions and featuring four high-tech babies who show images of children on television screens on their bellies, will debut on February 11th, the eve of the Chinese New Year.
The sale of Teletubbies and the attendant merchandise has made a fortune for both the show's creators and the BBC. However, the show has also attracted more than its share of controversy.
Some educationalists have expressed concern that the sing-song baby language used by the characters could harm speech development in its pre-school target audience.
That charge has been rebutted by the programme makers and by other experts who say the Teletubbies unique style helps infants develop communication and language skills.
Nonetheless, translating Tubby-talk into Mandarin is proving difficult.
Other media firms such as the Walt Disney Co have started to feature in China with children's programmes and cartoons. Last week, the Harry Potter movie opened in Shanghai and Beijing to rave reviews.
Although China is opening up to foreign media firms, it is moving slowly. The Communist Party views television as a key tool of power at a time when the country faces rapid economic and social transformation.