Can you imagine there is a software that is used by over 24 million
people and you don't know it? I couldn't.
But today I needed to install qq.
QQ is an instant messaging software
that is used by almost all Chinese people that have access to a computer. It seems to be very likely to ICQ. There is also a nice wikipedia article about it.
The website http://www.qq.com is only available in Chinese. But there is an english qq release available for example at [http://218.189.38.23/qqfile-big5/EngQQ2005Formal.exe]
(that is a server in Honkong). But from the installer you need to go to the Chinese qq website in order to create an account. This was really fun for me. I was very happy to get an english version at all. First I tried the chinese version and got completely lost!
I found a very nice blog entry
[http://kuhfladen.wordpress.com/2007/08/03/howto-get-a-qq-number/]
that helps you go through the process on the chinese website for creating a qq account.
The description is very accurate, however they added another page after the first selection, where you need to choose between qq and email account. Select the first option (qq). I took screenshots after filling out the security questions, so it is much easier to fill in the correct answers when you are requested to do so.



