YUANLIN (Taiwan) - NOT content with confining its logo to hand bags, lunch boxes and jet planes, Japan's iconic Hello Kitty brand has staked out a new piece of commercial real estate: A maternity hospital in central Taiwan.

Hau Sheng Hospital, located 150 kilometres south of Taipei, is the latest destination for the cute feline with the penchant for pink, reflecting its owner's belief that mothers and newborns will be soothed by the well-known Hello Kitty ambience.

Looking on proudly as his perky newborn son was wheeled into the baby ward, first-time father Chen Wen-sheng, 24, said coming to the hospital had been the right choice for his entire family.

'Both my wife and I like Hello Kitty and we chose this hospital after seeing it on TV,' he said. 'The place is quite pretty, and warm and fuzzy like Hello Kitty should be.'

Introduced in 1974 by Japan's Sanrio, Hello Kitty has become one of the most powerful brands in the world, adorning some 50,000 products in 60 countries.

In Taiwan it is found on dozens of consumer goods ranging from purses to tote bags, and has even been used by local air carrier Eva Airways to promote jet travel to Japan.

The hospital boasts an elaborate, gilded entrance with mock Ionic columns and white, pink and violet tile walls.

A giant Hello Kitty figure dressed in a pink doctor uniform greets visitors in the main lobby, while colorful murals of the feline and her 'Dear Daniel' boyfriend are mounted in the recovery rooms for moms, in the central baby room, and even on elevator doors.

Nurses dressed in pink uniforms and matching aprons with an imprint of the Hello Kitty image patrol the halls, while newborns wrapped in Hello Kitty blankets - pink for the girls, sky blue for the boys - embellish the wards.

'When new moms feel anxious and lost about how to deal with their new babies, Hello Kitty can make them more relaxed and reduce their sense of discomfort while giving birth,' said hospital owner Tsai Tsung-ji.

He said about 2,000 babies have been born under Hello Kitty's watchful eyes since the image was first introduced in the hospital in late 2006, adding that he got the Hello Kitty idea from his mom, wife and daughter, all of whom are huge fans.

He declined to reveal how much he was paying Sanrio for the Hello Kitty rights except to say that it was a 'reasonable' figure.

Nurse Rita Lai said the cat character warms people's heart and draws moms and medical staff closer together.

'Pink is about warm and fuzzy feelings and new lives,' she said. 'Hello Kitty allows new moms to feel more relaxed, lower their defenses and make it easier for us to treat them.' -- AP