Category: World Service

Date: 01.09.2004
Printable version

An agreement has been finalised enabling the BBC to display headlines and news summaries from its Persian language website - bbcpersian.com - on the biggest Persian language portal.

Visitors to the news section of gooya.com will be able to click through from the BBC headlines to the full story and further BBC content. 

bbcpersian.com will offer gooya.com international news as well as news from Afghanistan, Iran and Tajikistan.

bbcpersian.com will also provide access to its popular Your Voice forum. 

Users of gooya.com, which is a bilingual Persian and English site, will also have access to Middle East and global entertainment news from bbcnews.com.

Behrouz Afagh, Head of the BBC World Service's Eurasia Region, said: "More than 600,000 people regularly visit the BBC Persian service's website bbcpersian.com with over nine million monthly page impressions. 

"This new partnership provides us with the opportunity to deliver high quality news and current affairs to an even wider audience, further expanding our outreach amongst Persian speakers across the world."

Farshad Bayan, founder and editor of gooya.com, said: "This agreement with the BBC represents an important phase in the growth and development of gooya.com.

"News headlines and summaries from the world's largest newsgathering operation will complement and deepen the international news coverage on our site, providing users with an even more rewarding experience.

"Gooya already receives more than five million page impressions per month, but coupled with the BBC and its reputation as a trusted global news provider, our popularity is sure to increase."

Notes to Editors

bbcpersian.com is the highly succesful website of the BBC Persian service.

It provides coverage of news, current affairs, culture and sports.

Persian speakers around the world can access the interactive content and listen to the audio of popular radio programes.

The BBC Persian service broadcasts nearly 50 hours of news and current affairs programmes a week to Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia.

bbcnews.com is the website of the BBC's news services featuring news and analysis with a special emphasis on a global news agenda.

bbcnews.com also offers easier access to international coverage of sport, arts, science and technology, as well as the BBC World Service site which features text and audio in 43 languages.

It contains detailed information about BBC World Service broadcasts, schedules and frequencies in all languages.

gooya.com is an internet directory of Iranian online media. 

The popular independent Persian portal and its news section receives more than five million page impressions per month. 

It provides links to a number of Persian language news sites including Iranian radio, newspapers and periodicals and publishes news, articles and reports about Iran.