Local industrial and commercial authorities will help companies develop brand logos to increase the number of local logos registered overseas to 20,000 by the year 2012, officials said yesterday.

To help achieve the target, the Shanghai Bureau of Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau said it would build a public service platform in the bureau.

The platform would provide logo registration and design consultation, a legal service, value estimation and logo trade for companies. It would also be promoted to other provinces.

"Through the platform, we will try our best to make Shanghai the center of brand and logo creation for the country," said Fang Huiping, director of the bureau. Officials will also crack down fakes and product violations to protect local logos.

Another 184 logos were selected yesterday as "Well-known Shanghai Logos," including Xiaonanguo restaurant and Shiji Lianhua hypermarket.

By the end of last year, the city had 53 "Well-known China Logos," up 77 percent on 2002 figures, and 498 "Well-known Shanghai Logos," up 112 percent.