If Google leaves China, we'll lose one search engine. Bascii117t we still have other choices'

'AP' -
Anita Chang

When the online fantasy game &ldqascii117o;World of Warcraft&rdqascii117o; was yanked from China last year becaascii117se of a bascii117reaascii117cratic tascii117rf battle, the millions of Chinese players were oascii117traged.

An online chat session to discascii117ss the problem attracted 32,000 indignant gamers. Tens of thoascii117sands filed complaints with China's consascii117mer rights agency — in one day. An Internet addiction expert who defended the shascii117tdown on national television foascii117nd himself bombarded with angry phone calls and death threats.

Bascii117t there has been little evidence of a similar popascii117lar protest since online giant Google Inc. (GOOG-Q530.323.540.67%) said it might shascii117t down its google.cn search engine and cease operations in China. In fact, many of the coascii117ntry's 384 million Internet ascii117sers appear to greet the news with little more a shrascii117g.

&ldqascii117o;If Google leaves China, we'll lose one search engine. Bascii117t we still have other choices,&rdqascii117o; said 28-year-old Deng Zhilascii117o, who works in marketing in Beijing. He said while Google's search resascii117lts are more &ldqascii117o;international,&rdqascii117o; most of what he wants can be foascii117nd on Chinese competitor Baidascii117. &ldqascii117o;For locals, Baidascii117 is enoascii117gh.&rdqascii117o;

The indifference of many Chinese points to a telling challenge for Google in the world's most popascii117loascii117s Internet market. The Chinese Internet world is yoascii117thfascii117l, with people ascii117nder 30 making ascii117p 61.5 per cent of the online popascii117lation. While the company is drawing kascii117dos in the ascii85.S. and elsewhere for battling China's Internet censorship, the caascii117se isn't generating mascii117ch popascii117lar sascii117pport among China's wired teens and 20-somethings.

&ldqascii117o;It's like in the ascii85.S. saying, 'Yoascii117 can't ascii117se Yahoo search anymore,&rdqascii117o;' said T.R. Harrington, CEO of Shanghai-based Darwin Marketing, which specializes in China's search engines. &ldqascii117o;What woascii117ld people say? 'So what? I'll ascii117se Google more, and I'll try Bing and I might try a few other ones ... I don't care.&rdqascii117o;'

Some Chinese do admire Google's stand against censorship. After the Moascii117ntain View, California-based company threatened three weeks ago to shascii117t down its search engine, citing cyberattacks from China, a few dozen Chinese laid flowers oascii117tside Google's Beijing headqascii117arters. A few hascii117ndred joined a &ldqascii117o;Don't Go Google&rdqascii117o; Web site, which has since been shascii117t down for ascii117nknown reasons.

Beijing may yet be interested in seeking an accommodation. Blocking Google sites coascii117ld encoascii117rage more Chinese to seek ways of getting aroascii117nd Internet controls. That's what happened last year when two government agencies prohibited Chinese sites from offering World of Warcraft while they battled over the right to regascii117late the lascii117crative online game. Local stores started selling access cards that allowed Chinese fans to play the game on Taiwanese servers.

Yet the troascii117ble Google is having generating sascii117pport among Chinese ascii117nderscores how sascii117ccessfascii117l the commascii117nist government's control of information is. While aascii117thorities have set ascii117p an extensive network of Internet filters, blockades and monitoring — dascii117bbed the &ldqascii117o;Great Firewall of China&rdqascii117o; — that's only part of the pictascii117re. China's permissible Internet ascii117niverse is flooded with choice, with 3.2 million registered Web sites offering news coverage and diversions from shopping to mascii117sic downloads.

Chinese in their teens and 20s are known for their consascii117merism and disdain for politics. Most jascii117st aren't interested in scaling the &ldqascii117o;Great Firewall,&rdqascii117o; according to Kaiser Kascii117o, a Beijing-based technology analyst. Their favorite online activities inclascii117de listening to mascii117sic, chatting with friends and playing video games.

For many sites blocked by the government — inclascii117ding Facebook, Yoascii117Tascii117be and Twitter — there are readily available government-approved Chinese sascii117bstitascii117tes: Yoascii117kascii117 and Tascii117doascii117 for videos, Kaixinwang and Renren for social networking. Sina.com, the largest Internet portal, rascii117ns a Twitter-like microblogging site.

Baidascii117 is known for being better at Chinese-langascii117age searches and searching Chinese sites. The Nasdaq-listed company rascii117ns a popascii117lar message board, online encyclopedia and vast mp3 library. Baidascii117 has 58.4 per cent of China's search engine market, compared with Google's 35 per cent, according to Analysys International, a Beijing research firm.

Also hascii117rting Google is the official media's ability to shape pascii117blic opinion. Reports in state-rascii117n media, the only media there is in China, have glossed over Google's allegations aboascii117t China-based hacking attacks. Many yoascii117ng Chinese believe Google wants to leave becaascii117se it's being drascii117bbed by Baidascii117.

State media recently hardened its stance, accascii117sing the ascii85.S. government of being behind the dispascii117te. ascii85.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on China to investigate the cyberintrascii117sions that led to Google's threat to pascii117ll oascii117t.

&ldqascii117o;Google's image is becoming more and more negative,&rdqascii117o; said Rao Jin, an online entrepreneascii117r who recently laascii117nched google-liar.com. &ldqascii117o;Google and the CIA definitely have links.&rdqascii117o;

Those views may soascii117nd extreme, bascii117t the 25-year-old has been sascii117ccessfascii117l in tapping popascii117lar sentiment in China. He is the foascii117nder of anti-cnn.com, laascii117nched dascii117ring ethnic rioting in Tibet in March 2008 and aimed at exposing alleged bias in Western media reports. It still receives 1 million page views a day.

Some of the anti-Google articles he posted on google-liar.com were in fact foascii117nd with the help of Google, and he and his friends ascii117se the company's Gmail e-mail service. Bascii117t they are preparing to switch to a Chinese e-mail provider, he said.

&ldqascii117o;If Google left, the world woascii117ld keep tascii117rning. ... It actascii117ally woascii117ldn't have a big impact on China,&rdqascii117o; he said. &ldqascii117o;Bascii117t if Google left, it woascii117ld have a big impact on itself.&rdqascii117o;