BEIJING - Investment guru Warren Buffett is expected to give Spring Festival wishes and display his musical talent during an online gala.

Billionaire financier and Berkshire Hathaway Chief Executive Officer Warren Buffett plays a game of bridge during the shareholders annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska in this May 3, 2009 file photo. [Photo/China Daily]

China Network Television - which will host an online Spring Festival Gala to be broadcast globally during the traditional Chinese holiday in two weeks - said Buffett, who has many fans in China, is one of the international guests the channel invited.

"Each year we try to invite Chinese and international celebrities to perform and send greetings," said Luo Yan from Long Legacy International Communications, a company jointly holding the event with China Network Television. "Buffett is one of them."

The news has spread quickly via micro blogs over the past days. Some netizens said the 81-year-old's appearance adds weight to the online show, especially as China's stock market has suffered a sharp fall the past year.

Luo said that the renowned investor provided a short video clip of his previous music performance in the US. He has also specially filmed a short video of Chinese New Year greetings for the online show.

One of Buffett's two sons will perform in the video.

"We invited Warren Buffett to participate in the gala this year not because of the great business success he has achieved, but mainly because of his famous contribution to the public welfare," Luo said.

This year's online Spring Festival Gala will mainly focus on the life of the grassroots, China Network Television said in a news conference in December.

But the organizer of the event said that as the spring gala is still being prepared, whether the video will eventually be aired depends on the length of the gala.

Wan Ying, a 25-year-old student from Nanjing University in East China's Jiangsu province, said he is looking forward to the show.

"I've heard about Buffett for a long time, and I know he is a magic stock buyer, very veteran and extremely wealthy," he said. "I am curious about what he will bring to the online show, an English song or a Chinese song? I'm not sure whether he sings well."

Chen Li, a Chinese student who now lives in Sydney, Australia, is also interested in the performance.

"I had no idea that Warren Buffett plays a musical instrument," she said. "But I think he might also want to encourage Chinese people to do charity."