Google is investing in another four to five unnamed Chinese internet companies to compete with rival Baidu.com, according to Google's China president, Kai-Fu Lee. Lee says the companies are involved in search, online communities, online entertainment and other spheres. One of Google's first moves into the Chinese marketplace was an investment in Shenzhen-based Xunlei Network Technology, a file-sharing company. According to Lee, Google typically does more investing globally than it does acquisitions. He says the company is investing in China to take advantage of the huge market growth. Industry researcher, Analysys International, says in Q2, Google had a 23% market share in China's online search sector compared with Baidu's 58%.

In June, Google partnered with Sina, a Chinese online portal, to cooperate in search and advertising services. The aim was to combine Google's experience in search technology with Sina's high volume of traffic to compete with Baidu. The move follows a series of deals by Google in China, which boasts about a fifth of the online market and competes with domestic peers including Sohu.com and Alibaba. Sina has also been striking partnerships, most recently with five major music labels including Sony, Warner, BMG and EMI, to launch a pay-per-download music platform. It previously worked with Baidu and search engine Zhongsou for search services. "The strategic partnership with Sina is just another example of Google's continuous localisation efforts in China," Lee says. Forward to colleagues