[photopress:IT_tencents.jpg,full,alignright]Chinese search engine Baidu.com is preparing to launch its own instant messaging service to gain a footing in the Web application that is the second most used in China.
The country’s most used search engine is recruiting engineers for development of its own IM product, with preference to those ‘with experience in reputable IM companies.’
Company officials said they did not have a timetable for the IM product yet, or how much they will spend on the development.
In a sense it is approaching this in exactly the opposite way to the market leader. Tencent was founded by Pony Ma in Shenzhen, China, in November 1998 with it messaging service being officially launched in Feb 1999.
In the 2006 Q3 report it had 221.4 million active users and it has climbed massively since then.
In 2005 Tencent opened QQ Lab which acts as QQ’s Web2.0 service incubator. So far it has launched Tencent’s web2.0 service QQVideo and a social bookmarking service called QQ Bookmark is in public beta testing.
Richard Chang, the founder and director of QQ Labs said that after the message service QQ has built up several more excellent services — QQ.com, QQ Game, QQ Zone, QQ Show, Paipai.com, and more. All of these services have been seamlessly integrated with QQ IM and can be accessed with a user’s QQ account.
[photopress:IT_song_dynsaty_Baidu.jpg,full,alignleft]Thus Baidu.com is starting late in the day and is against solidly entrenched opposition with QQ,.com now listed as one of the top ten sites in the world.
On the other hand Baidu has rarely put a foot wrong. Possibly because it is inspired by beautiful woman.
The name ‘Baidu’ was inspired by a poem written during the Song Dynasty. The poem compares the search for a retreating beauty — ‘. . . 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.’
If Baidu is that persistent no doubt it will make a serious impact on the IM market.
Source: Shanghai Daily and research.
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