March 2 - US jeanswear giant Levi Strauss and Co has opened an Internet store on China's largest retail website Taobao as it seeks to grab a share of the fast growing online consumer market.

"Levi's launched their flagship online store in China on the Taobao Mall platform a few days ago," a spokeswoman for Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, which owns Taobao, told AFP.

More than 200 products are available and Levi's plans to launch exclusive online-only styles, she said.

Taobao Mall is a business-to-consumer platform operated by Taobao, which also provides a consumer-to-consumer service.

E-commerce has been expanding in China as more companies set up online stores to cut costs and improve efficiency.

Levi's is the latest foreign clothing brand to target the country's Internet market, which now has 457 million web users.

Sportswear giant Adidas has opened a flagship online store on Taobao along with US clothing retailer Gap and Japan's Uniqlo.

Levi's has more than 500 outlets in China. The company in August launched a new brand "dENiZEN" targeting young consumers in China and other Asian markets.