Microsoft Bing to Power Baidu Search in China (PC Magazine)

Expanding a working relationship that dates back to 2006, Microsoft Bing said it will provide English search results for Baidu, China's biggest search engine.

Now, when Chinese Internet users type English search queries into the Chinese-language Baidu.com, Bing search results will appear. The non-financial partnership will begin by the end of the year.

"As part of Bing providing English search results for Baidu, we are subject to all applicable laws and regulations, as we are in every country where Microsoft does business," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement. "As part of this partnership, Bing will incorporate certain filtering technologies and processes to ensure that we are in compliance with local laws."

Microsoft Bing has a Chinese version, but according to Analysys International, its local market share is less than 1 percent. In comparison, Baidu has around 75 percent of the search market; Google has 19.2 percent.

Like every search engine that operates in China, Bing results are censored according to Chinese government regulations, which are opaque (inspiring the nickname "Great Firewall of China"). A search for sensitive topics like "Dalai Lama" and "Tiananmen Square Massacre," for instance, provide slim pickings.

Microsoft and Baidu first partnered up in 2006, when Microsoft displayed Baidu's paid search listings across sites like MSN, Live, and other partner Web sites in China. According to Bloomberg, Bing recently ended a deal to power Yahoo's Alibaba search engine.

U.S. tech companies have long faced challenges when entering China. Last year, Google re-routed its search engine to its Hong Kong version to avoid Chinese government censorship; it later introduced a hybrid approach to remain in the country. Cisco and Yahoo have also had to defend their relationships with the Chinese government. Earlier this year, a human rights group slammed Facebook for agreeing to abide by Chinese censorship laws.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/search/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20110705/tc_zd/266511

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