Huawei plans to invest about 100 million yuan ($15.4 million) to become the sole sponsor of the 2011 Italian Supercoppa. The soccer match between two top Italian teams A.C. Milan and Inter Milan will be held in Beijing''s iconic Olympics stadium, the Bird's Nest, on Aug 6 and used for promotions throughout the year.

This will be the second time that Italian Supercoppa has come to China for the second time. On Aug 8, 2009, the competition drew about 73,000 football fans to the Bird's Nest and created record China sport event box office takings of 77 million yuan.

"Through this soccer match, we hope to reach 100 million Chinese people and let them know about Huawei's cloud computing smart phones," said Steven Yang, China president of Huawei Device Co Ltd.

Yang said the sponsorship of the Italian Super Cup demonstrates an important strategic step for Huawei Device, in that the company wants to build its brand recognition among ordinary people instead of just among telecom network operators.

"It will also lift the image of Huawei terminals on to the world stage," added Yang.