Podcast
Google not on mapping list
Updated: 2010-07-01 14:10
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Google Inc has not been included in the initial list of companies that the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) plans to approve to provide online mapping services in the country.
Twenty-three domestic companies including Baidu, Alibaba and Sohu are among those expected to be granted a license to provide the services, the SBSM has said.
Google's failure to make the list may bring uncertainties for the US-based Internet search giant's Chinese operations, as its domestic website license expired on Wednesday, analysts said.
The search engine's joint venture on the Chinese mainland was "very late" in its application to renew its website license, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
But "relevant departments are dealing with the application and there will be a result soon", Xinhua reported on Wednesday.
Other foreign companies such as Microsoft and Nokia which reportedly applied for licenses were also not included in the latest list.
Companies that fail to get a license from the SBSM will also be unable to provide Internet mapping services via mobile phones in the country, according to SBSM.
That will impact Google's 2 million active mobile map users in China, said Guan Dai, an analyst from research firm In-Stat China.
An SBSM official on Wednesday refused to comment on why foreign firms have not been approved. The bureau plans to release an official announcement in several days, he told China Daily.
Google on Tuesday stopped automatically redirecting Chinese users to its Hong Kong site after the government called the approach "unacceptable" and refused to renew the ICP license of its domestic site Google.cn, the company said.
（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.