BEIJING, August 11 -- The popularity of Chinese as a second language is booming, with more than 3 million people around the world studying it as a second language in a variety of ways.

Speakers at the 5th International Conference on Chinese Language Pedagogy in Shanghai reported that more than 2,500 foreign universities now teach Chinese.

Around 1 million people from 120 countries have also signed up for the HSK, or Han Yu Shui Ping Kao Shi, the official test of non-native speaker's Chinese language abilities.

With around 100 million foreigners expected to learn Chinese by 2010, the Chinese government are preparing to support Chinese language study for non-native speakers.

(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)