GENEVA, July 25 (Reuters) - China and India have joined a United Nations-run database on clinical trials to help ensure their research is in line with global standards, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday.

The WHO's online portal (www.who.int/trialsearch) was set up in May to allow doctors, patients, scientists and policy-makers to track trials going on around the world. Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the United States have already joined.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan praised China and India, by population the world's two largest countries and both home to fast-growing clinical trials, for signing up.

"This development will contribute to improving the ethical conduct of and public trust in clinical trials, which are vital for testing new life-saving treatments," she said.

Chinese and Indian researchers "will be more accountable to the people who consent to participate in trials and to those who may benefit from research results," the WHO said in a statement.

China's clinical trial registry was established in 2005 and has met the criteria required from the U.N. agency to submit its data to the portal, the WHO said. India's registry was created this year and designed to ensure data meets WHO reporting rules.

Other countries including Germany, Brazil and South Africa are also in discussions about joining the clinical trial platform, a WHO spokeswoman said.

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