You don’t often read anything about Google that’s not all sunshine and lollipops, which is why the headline: “Google Losing Ground in China” made us stop and take a look.
A Chinese ‘Net research group reports that Google is losing the search engine battle to its biggest Chinese rival, Baidu.com.
China Internet Network Information Center says Baidu.com’s market share is now 52%, compared to Google’s 33%. With its Internet population of 103 million (second only to the U.S.), China is the next big prize for large network vendors and Internet behemoths. That’s why Google and Microsoft are fighting over the services of Kai-Fu Lee, who left Redmond to head up Google’s China initiative this summer, sparking a still-unresolved lawsuit. It’s also why Google last year bought a 2.6% stake in Baidu.com, a move that could lead to an outright Google buyout.
Via My Way News
