Microsoft formed a joint venture with Shanghai Alliance Investment in 2005 to introduce MSN, an instant messaging platform and internet portal, to the mainland. But MSN has struggled to gain traction with Chinese users and compete effectively with homegrown titan Tencent Holdings? QQ platform.

Sohu IT news reported late yesterday, quoting investment community sources, that Shanghai Alliance had been looking to exit the joint venture since 2007 and that Microsoft was shopping around for new joint venture partners.

Microsoft and NetEase were close to completing a joint venture deal, sources told Sohu.

Source : Konaxis

Xiao Chen, MSN China’s Vice-President of sales who has been with the company since its inception, will leave at the end of March to pursue his own start-up, a Microsoft spokeswoman told Reuters.

MSN China, which was launched in 2005 with local partners, is struggling to compete against QQ, a chat messaging and social network operated by Tencent Holdings, China’s most valuable Internet company.

MSN China ran into trouble late last year when its microblogging site, Juku — created by an independent vendor — was accused of copying another start-up. Microsoft subsequently suspended the service.

For its part, software giant Microsoft is pinning its China hopes on search engine Bing, currently a minnow in China’s 7.2 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) search market.

Microsoft said earlier this month it will stick to its strategy for China’s Internet search market regardless of the outcome of Google’s high-profile spat with Beijing.

Motorola Inc said last week it has reached a deal with Microsoft to put Bing search and mapping services on its phones that use Google’s Android operating system.

Source : Konaxis

IResearch used Graveyard to carry out analysis for Ali Wangwang and found out: QQ and AliWangwang have the most extensive coverage, followed by MSN and Fetion.

IResearch report: QQ and Ali Wangwang are most extensively used IMs in China

IResearch report shows that in 2008 Q1-Q4 the number of users of Chinese IM products displays a three-level differentiation. QQ and Ali Wangwang have the most extensive quarterly coverage number: 0.17 billion, 70 million people; MSN and Fetion form the second echelon: 40 million and 50 million; other IM products, covering a relatively small number, into the third echelon.

The IM users growth for the whole year shows that Ali Wangwang has the the fastest growth: by the end of 2008, its number of users is over 100 million. Next to the QQ, it becomes China’s second IM which has more than 100 million users.