SHANGHAI: China's Baidu, which has three-quarters of China's search market, has signed a deal with Microsoft's Bing to offer English-language search to Baidu users, as Baidu looks to expand overseas and Microsoft to increase its China presence.
Baidu dominates China's search engine market after Google Inc pulled out following a high-profile fallout with Beijing over censorship last year.
The partnership will allow English-language input into Baidu's search box to automatically activate Bing, whose search results will be delivered to Baidu's web pages, Baidu said in an emailed statement.
The cooperation would allow Baidu to improve its English-language search services as it seeks to push into the international search market, while giving Microsoft's Bing better access to China's more than 450 million Internet users, it added.
"The cooperation between Baidu and Microsoft will further strengthen Baidu's dominance in China's search engine market, and will also make Google's business in China more difficult," said Dong Xu, an analyst with Analysys International.
"The move will also pave the way for Baidu's overseas business expansion, especially in the English-language search market."
Baidu had 76 percent of the Chinese search market in the first quarter of 2011, while Bing's share was negligible, according to Analysys International data.
Baidu has also been increasingly moving into other areas of business.
Last month it said it was paying $306 million to take a majority stake in travel website Qunar, as it focuses more on e-commerce and online video.
Shares in Baidu have risen more than 48 percent so far this year, even after a fall during June, as concerns over fraud at some Chinese companies listed overseas hit Chinese companies listed in New York more broadly.
China is the world's largest Internet market, but with web penetration hovering around 30 percent and lack of sophisticated users outside the big cities, the potential for growth is huge, analysts say.
Source: timesofindia
Baidu dominates China's search engine market after Google Inc pulled out following a high-profile fallout with Beijing over censorship last year.
The partnership will allow English-language input into Baidu's search box to automatically activate Bing, whose search results will be delivered to Baidu's web pages, Baidu said in an emailed statement.
The cooperation would allow Baidu to improve its English-language search services as it seeks to push into the international search market, while giving Microsoft's Bing better access to China's more than 450 million Internet users, it added.
"The cooperation between Baidu and Microsoft will further strengthen Baidu's dominance in China's search engine market, and will also make Google's business in China more difficult," said Dong Xu, an analyst with Analysys International.
"The move will also pave the way for Baidu's overseas business expansion, especially in the English-language search market."
Baidu had 76 percent of the Chinese search market in the first quarter of 2011, while Bing's share was negligible, according to Analysys International data.
Baidu has also been increasingly moving into other areas of business.
Last month it said it was paying $306 million to take a majority stake in travel website Qunar, as it focuses more on e-commerce and online video.
Shares in Baidu have risen more than 48 percent so far this year, even after a fall during June, as concerns over fraud at some Chinese companies listed overseas hit Chinese companies listed in New York more broadly.
China is the world's largest Internet market, but with web penetration hovering around 30 percent and lack of sophisticated users outside the big cities, the potential for growth is huge, analysts say.
Source: timesofindia
