Firm wants a seamless payment system, and regards the service as a key driving force for profit growth

Sina Corp, the Nasdaq-listed Internet company that owns micro-blogging service Sina Weibo, will launch an online payment service in April, in a bid to translate its heavy Web traffic into revenue amid increasing competition.

Dubbed WeiboPay, the online service will team up with merchants that sell goods via their corporate accounts on Weibo, said Hong Lizhou, the general manager who oversees Sina Weibo's marketing strategy.