Baidu Means Business

Top Chinese search engine Baidu gains popularity among the big names in business and technology.

reportedly also being negotiated with major blue-chip Internet service providers China Telcom and China Netcom. If the deals are signed Baidu stands to gain up to 50 million more searches daily, which would generate $10 to $20 million dollars in revenue over the next year. The increase in Baidu's revenue would boost the next year's target 5 to 10 percent, and also put the already intangible site even further ahead in the race. Baidu already holds 60 percent of the Chinese market. Baidu's interest in the agreements seems to be quite obvious, with most Internet service providers using their own site as the default page. As per the agreements, Baidu would appear on the ISP's sites and generate a substantial amount of traffic. Rather than fight China's top Internet site and create an unfriendly user image, Microsoft seems to be content with joining the Baidu team. Add to Del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit | Furl Autmn Davis is a staff writer for Murdok covering ebusiness and technology.