Microsoft and local players, including Baidu, China’s search leader, and Sohu.com, must also comply with local laws requiring censorship of certain content.

“We hope to achieve a relatively important place in the China search market,” Zhang said. “But we must be very patient, we still need a lot of time.”

Zhang added that other key development areas for Microsoft in China this year would include search and advertising platform technologies, and development of mobile platforms and cloud computing technologies.

Microsoft considers China a vital market for its Web search business, and is hoping to duplicate early progress for the U.S. version of Bing in China.

Zhang added that Microsoft planned to spend about $500 million on research and development in China this year, and another $150 million on outsourced projects.

Source : Konaxis