American television staple Saturday Night Live will have its own Chinese version in partnership with Sohu.com Inc, operator of an online search engine and video streaming sites, Bloomberg reported.

Broadway Video Entertainment, founded in 1979 by SNL creator Lorne Michaels, entered a deal with Sohu which will see comedians from China performing live music and sketch comedy. This was revealed in an e-mail statement, reported Bloomberg.

Sohu already streams the US version to viewers in China.

SNL, which airs on NBC, has spawned generations of comics who have gone on to global fame, including Eddie Murphy, John Belushi, Tina Fey, Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell. The programme aired its 40th anniversary show last month.