Google to give local management more control

Search engine Google is to give its local management more control as it seeks to supplant Baidu as the market leader in China's internet search market, the Wall Street Journal reported. "We were late in entering the China market. We are catching up, our investment is working and we will eventually be the leader," said Eric Schmidt, chief executive of Google. Baidu accounted for 57% of China's internet search revenue in the first three months of the year, according to Beijing-based technology research firm Analysys International. Second-placed Google was on 19%. Schmidt said that, by giving local staff greater autonomy, they would be able to develop new products for the China market. Google's Greater China president Lee Kai-fu added that social networking, mobile applications and entertainment services were among the most potentially lucrative areas in China. Earlier this year, the company bought a stake in Xunlei Network Technology, a local provider of video and game downloads.