Google (GOOG) has already signaled its intention to leave the Chinese internet search market after scuffles with the Chinese government over information freedom and censorship. The move leaves an opening for Chinese market leader Baidu.com (BIDU) and even Microsoft (MSFT). What about the ever-growing mobile search market in China? What is Google going to do there?
Currently, Google and Baidu combine for more than 50% market share in the mobile search market in China. That's 50% of more than 315 million daily searches. While Google never did reach the prominence over its Baidu competitor in the PC internet search market, can it really walk away from such a large market share in mobile search? Mobile internet access (mostly using wireless handsets) already are on their way to leaping far ahead of the standard personal computer, and China has the world's largest population and a growing economy. Can Google afford to leave?
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