Starting college is often difficult - moving away from home for the first time. But what if you could stay at home and learn? Chinese Nobel laureate Mo Yan has taken a job as honorary principal of a new online university which was founded on October 30.

China's ever-expanding group of online writers are getting more attention, including Mo. Writers and senior editors from major literary websites have been invited to join this newly established online university. 

"When the Internet started to thrive, I thought I would never surf online. Even when computers entered ordinary people's lives, I thought I would never learn to use them. But these ideas were smashed quickly. The study of China's contemporary literature can not ignore online works. So the people who write such works must be taken into account," Mo said.

In China, there are over one million online writers. Every day, over ten million words in the form of internet stories and novels are published, equal to the annual work of a mid-sized publishing house. However, the skill of the writers varies greatly.

"Many universities offer literature majors, but there are still many things worth teaching and discussing. We can offer free long-distance education for people interested in literature, people of all ages," Mo added.

The program plans to provide free training for ten thousand students every year.

(CNTV.cn October 31, 2013)