Baidu Planet: Baidu: Microsoft Bing Will Power Its English Language Search "Will further strengthen dominance in China"

● Baidu Planet ●

Baidu is partnering with Microsoft Bing for English language search in China

China's Baidu, which has three-quarters of China's search market, has signed a deal with Microsoft's Bing to offer English-language search to Baidu users, as Baidu looks to expand overseas and Microsoft to increase its China presence. Baidu [BIDU] dominates China's search engine market after Google [GOOG] pulled out following a high-profile fallout with Beijing over censorship last year.

The partnership will allow English-language input into Baidu's search box to automatically activate Bing, whose search results will be delivered to Baidu's web pages, Baidu said in an emailed statement. The cooperation would allow Baidu to improve its English-language search services as it seeks to push into the international search market, while giving Microsoft's [MSFT] Bing better access to China's more than 450 million Internet users, it added.

"The cooperation between Baidu and Microsoft will further strengthen Baidu's dominance in China's search engine market, and will also make Google's business in China more difficult," said Dong Xu, an analyst with Analysys International. "The move will also pave the way for Baidu's overseas business expansion, especially in the English-language search market."

Baidu had 76 percent of the Chinese search market in the first quarter of 2011, while Bing's share was negligible, according to Analysys International data.

Baidu has also been increasingly moving into other areas of business. Last month it said it was paying $306 million to take a majority stake in travel website Qunar, as it focuses more on e-commerce and online video.

Shares in Baidu have risen more than 48 percent so far this year, even after a fall during June, as concerns over fraud at some Chinese companies listed overseas hit Chinese companies listed in New York more broadly.

China is the world's largest Internet market, but with web penetration hovering around 30 percent and lack of sophisticated users outside the big cities, the potential for growth is huge, analysts say.

Baidu Says Microsoft's Bing to Power Its English Search - CNBC

About Baidu
Baidu, Inc. is the leading Chinese language Internet search provider. As a technology-based media company, Baidu aims to provide the best way for people to find information. In addition to serving Internet search users, Baidu provides an effective platform for businesses to reach potential customers. Baidu's ADSs, each of which represents one Class A ordinary share, currently trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "BIDU".

The Baidu Story

Many people have asked about the meaning of our name. "Baidu" was inspired by a poem written more than 800 years ago during the Song Dynasty. The poem compares the search for a retreating beauty amid chaotic glamour with the search for one's dream while confronted by life's many obstacles. "…hundreds and thousands of times, for her I searched in chaos, suddenly, I turned by chance, to where the lights were waning, and there she stood." Baidu, whose literal meaning is hundreds of times, represents persistent search for the ideal.

Baidu chose a poetic Chinese name because it wants the world to remember its heritage. As a native speaker of the Chinese language and a talented engineer, Baidu focuses on what it knows best - Chinese language search. Applying avant-garde technology to the world's most ancient and complex language is as challenging as it is exciting. At least people here at Baidu think so. As having diligently disclosed in the Prospectus of our recent Initial Public Offering, we believe there are at least 38 ways of saying "I" in Chinese. It is important that we master all the ways of addressing oneself in Chinese because our users depend on us to address every one of their daily queries. And trust us, pin pointing queries in the Chinese language is an art rather than a science.

Our mission is to provide the best way for people to find information. To do this we listen carefully to our users' needs and wants. Have we collected all the Chinese web pages they want to see? Are the pages current and up to date? Are the search results closely related to their queries? Did we return those search results instantly? To improve user experience, we constantly make improvements to our products and services. For example, we introduced "phonetic" or "pin-yin" search which allows our users to type in Chinese keywords using English alphabets. This feature is designed to skip the switching from English inputting to Chinese inputting and for when the user is not sure of the written form of a keyword. Our users definitely notice the many little things that we do differently to ensure a simple and reliable search experience every time.

In addition to serving individual users, we also serve as a media platform for online marketing customers. We not only provide our customers easy access to one of the largest online audiences in China but also targeted groups with defined interests as indicated by queries. Unlike traditional online advertising services which charge by flat fee, our marketing products and services are performance based. Our Pay for Performance model has taken the market by storm because it is cost effective and measurable.

We know that a lot of interesting things are going on in the Internet space, but we don't want to lose focus. China's Internet search industry is only a newly discovered territory. We see vast untapped grounds in our home base and we believe there are still plenty of prizes to be claimed by the best players.

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