While Yao Ming worries about missing the All-star game this year because of his broken knee, his fans back in China are fretting over their 7-foot-5 hero's name, which again fell victim to the craze of misapplying celebrities' names in registration.

A Chinese lady surnamed Jin last May registered the Chinese name of Yao Ming as a domain address in a mobile network service provided by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).

The service allows applicants in the country to register unique domain addresses and link them to mobile network websites. Chinese phone users who want to access those websites only need to send the domain address in text messages to the service provider.

The domain address registration is believed to contain huge profit, considering the huge market of 455 million Chinese mobile phone users and the prospect of popular network surfing made possible by 3G technologies.

A lot of organizations and companies in the country, including the Associated Press, have already registered their names in the service.

Jin, the lady who registered Yao's name, said she did not do it for economic reasons but to protect Yao, Thursday's China Youth Daily said.

Jin said she is willing to "give up the registration if Yao would give her a hug and his signature", the newspaper said.

"I want to keep Yao's name from being misused just like everyone else. That's why I registered his name ahead of those who want to take advantage of it," Jin was quoted as saying.

Yao's name had previously been registered as a brand for sanitary pads, triggering complaints from the public and Yao's agents and fans.

But a lot of Chinese Internet users still accused Jin of hyping herself, according to the China Youth Daily.

Yao's agents have already registered "Yao", "Yaoming" and 'Team Yao" in the mobile network service, according to a CNNIC official.

The CNNIC official also said one can ask CNNIC to cancel the registration if their names are "maliciously" registered by others for economic gains, reputation damage, or by people who want to block them from enjoying their legal rights on the network.

But the register will be allowed to own the registration as long as there is no complaints and the registration is used "in goodwill and not for commercial benefit".

Source: Xinhua