Vatican City - The Vatican's official website, www. vatican. va will feature a new Chinese section from January 19, the Vatican said Monday.

"Thanks to the new service, internet users from throughout the world will be able to navigate in Chinese to access the texts of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI which will be available in both traditional and simplified Chinese characters," the Vatican said in a statement.

The addition of Chinese brings to eight the number of languages represented on the Vatican site, which currently includes Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Latin sections. The Vatican statement noted how the Chinese section's launch is set to coincide with the day the Catholic Church commemorates Jesus' foster father, Saint Joseph, as "Patron of the Universal Church."

China's Catholics, estimated to number some 13 million, are split between those belonging to the state-sanctioned Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, and those who adhere to an underground church loyal to the pope.

The Vatican does not have diplomatic relations with China, whose officially atheist communist government cut ties in the early 1950s. (dpa)