Online literature growing at Baidu

"Baidu has a wide range of online services and has accumulated numerous users over the years, which means it is easy for us to have a large user base for online literature works to achieve the derivatives' market potentials."

Baidu Literature has multiple online literature websites and apps, to provide writers with a well-structured platform and to encourage original works, Zhang says.

Supportive Baidu service divisions, such as search engines and online forums, will recommend online writers and literature works likely to be of interest to Internet users, based on data collected on their Internet behavior.

Fang Xiang, an analyst with Baidu, cites the example of Dao Jian Shen Huang, or the God and Emperor of Knives and Swords. The fantasy novel was not famous after it first appeared online earlier this year, ranking at 200 on Baidu's most-searched online literature list. But after Fang's team recommended the novel to readers with similar interests, the novel climbed into the top 50.

In July, the company also kicked off a selection of cover girls for Dao Jian Shen Huang. Hundreds of young women uploaded their photos to the Internet to attract netizens' votes.

They received 600,000 votes and their photos had millions of clicks, according to Chinese media reports.

Similar cover-girl selections have also been held for later online works.

Baidu Literature intends to continue its practice of launching interactive events - both online and offline - to promote online writers and their works, says Zhang, the Baidu vice-president, while paying great attention to patent protection.