AMERICAN Express and the online payment unit of Tencent Holdings have agreed to allow Tencent users to buy goods from overseas websites more easily as Tencent expands its business into online shopping in addition to its core business of online gaming and social networking.

Users of Tencent's Tenpay payment service will be able to buy goods on sites in the US and the UK using an American Express online shopping service called "globaleshop," the companies said yesterday.

Tenpay had a 21.2 percent share of China's market for third-party online payments by transaction volume in the second quarter, behind Alibaba's payment arm Alipay's 45.4 percent, according to research firm Analysys International.