Chinese army recruitment to go online

BEIJING - China will start online recruitment for graduates in its army, a media report said.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the ministry of education plans to recruit some 150,000 college graduates this year, Xinhua news agency reported Thursday quoting a PLA statement.

The age limit has also been extended to 24 years for those with a bachelor degree. The PLA usually recruits men aged between 18 and 20 and women aged 18 or 19.

Last year, China announced a series of policies to encourage more young people with higher education to serve in the army, including a payment of up to 24,000 yuan ($3,500) for the student-turned soldiers.

Some 130,000 college graduates applied to join the army in 2009 and more than 100,000 were recruited, statistics said.