A Sino-British joint scholarship program was launched early this week to finance the education of young talents from both countries to study in Britain and China, China's Ministry of Education (MOE) announced Friday.

The program will allow young Chinese scholars to study and conduct research in top universities in Britain each year, while British students and scholars will be offered chances to study in China, the Ministry said.

Chinese students will also get a chance to see how British companies operate under a separate one-year internship programs supported by the education departments of the two countries.

The program is the biggest joint initiative since the Sino-British Friendship Scholarship Fund was established at the end of last century to promote Sino-British scholarship exchanges.

(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2006)