Intrawest Corp., the company that owns the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort in western Canada, is in talks to develop skiing areas in China to tap demand for the sport among the country's growing middle class.

The world's largest publicly traded ski-resort operator is discussing a "number of different" projects to promote winter sports in the world's most populous country, according to Daniel Jarvis, head of Intrawest's leisure and travel unit.

"We're absolutely all over China," Jarvis said.

Intrawest operates mountain resorts such as California's Squaw Valley and Mont Tremblant in Quebec. By investing in the Chinese tourist industry, the company would gain greater access to wealthy Chinese customers for its resorts in North America. About 1.5 million Chinese take up skiing each year, according to Skipressworld.com.

China's economy expanded 9.1 percent in 2003, and now has a middle class estimated to number as many as 100 million people.

The number of Chinese millionaires increased by 12 percent in 2003, according to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

"The climatic conditions there are right for long-term development but at the moment, Chinese millionaires come to the Rockies to ski - it's more exotic," said Georges Ducel, who manages a fund specialized in the sports sector for Tocque-ville Finance in Geneva.

Winter Olympics Yabuli, China's leading ski resort, is located near Harbin in the north of the country. About 110,000 people visited the area in 2000 and that figure could increase to 500,000 by 2010, according to estimates from the U.N. Industrial Development Organization.

By Hugo Miller, Bloomberg News