India's growing international profile and the craze for Bollywood has helped Hindi to spread in the US, says the chief of Voice of America's (VOA) Hindi service.

"As India's relations with America is taking happy turns, the need to know Hindi language is growing in America," Jagdish Sarin told reporters here late Monday.

He said Bollywood had also created a craze for Hindi in the US. According to him, Hindi was being taught in approximately 70-75 universities and institutes in that country.

No wonder, VOA has decided to expand its Hindi programmes. Sarin said VOA would also focus on its television wing and Hindi website, which reportedly records 30,000-40,000 hits a day.

"VOA has created a milestone in Hindi journalism. Catering to news updates in simple Hindi is our priority," he said.