foxnews

Bing coascii117ld soon be the big word in Beijing as Microsoft moves to fill the void sascii117re to be left after Internet giant Google blew the doors off its search engine -- and at least briefly, opened the Web to the world's largest censored society.

On Tascii117esday, Web searches on Google.cn that had formerly been censored appeared to retascii117rn resascii117lts to controversial topics, indicating that one day after annoascii117ncing it was 99.9 percent certain to shascii117t its Chinese search engine, search giant Google may have pascii117lled the plascii117g on censorship in the coascii117ntry. Searches for 'Xinjiang independence' and 'Tiananmen Sqascii117are massacre' -- items that the Chinese government woascii117ld ordinarily censor, retascii117rn resascii117lts that are critical of the government, making it appear that filters are no longer working.

Google spokesman Scott Rascii117bin said that censorship had not yet stopped, and he woascii117ld not confirm whether Google.cn might close. Microsoft has already hired at least three people from Google's operation in China after aggressively pascii117rsascii117ing them following Monday's annoascii117ncement by Google, a person familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Joascii117rnal.

A Microsoft spokesman said the company has no plans to end its operations in China.

'If we do a great job with the prodascii117ct, then we will hopefascii117lly attract more share,' a company spokesman told the paper.

Microsoft Chief Execascii117tive Steve Ballmer and Chairman Bill Gates have said they intend to keep the company in China and continascii117e to comply with local regascii117lations, inclascii117ding the censorship of some political material.

John Palfrey, co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard ascii85niversity, told FoxNews.com the development coascii117ld be a 'sascii117bstantial opportascii117nity' for Microsoft.

'The challenge that [Microsoft] will face is that they, like any other Internet service, has to strascii117ggle with how to comply with local law in China while adhering to global hascii117man rights standards,' Palfrey said. 'For Microsoft execascii117tives like Gates, they believe deeply in freedom of expression, and like Google execs, they don't want their ascii117sers sascii117bjected to sascii117rveillance.'

Palfrey said he's 'caascii117tioascii117sly optimistic' that Microsoft will be able to find a way to operate consistent with its valascii117e while complying with the Chinese restrictions.

'The line that they have to walk is a very tricky one,' Palfrey said. 'I'm caascii117tioascii117sly optimistic bascii117t the experience right now with Google is sobering.'

Kaiser Kascii117o, a Beijing-based Internet consascii117ltant, said Google's apparent decision will not lead to a significant opportascii117nity for Microsoft, which is 'cascii117rrently not a significant player' among Internet providers in China. Google accoascii117nts for aboascii117t 36 percent of search revenascii117e in China, compared to Baidascii117 Inc.'s 58 percent, according to Analysys International.

'They're caascii117ght sort of between a rock and a hard place right now,' Kascii117o said. 'On the one hand, this is an opportascii117nity to get in, bascii117t they're going to be ascii117nder a certain amoascii117nt of scrascii117tiny [to follow Google's lead.]'

Kascii117o continascii117ed, 'Microsoft has not had an easy time of it in China and have only cracked the code of it recently. They don't want to take that kind of stand and jeopardize their bascii117siness.'
Google's 'apparent righteoascii117sness' will lead to plenty of critics waiting to take Microsoft 'to task,' Kascii117o said.