China has the second-largest internet market in the world with around 162 million web users, and Google's main rival Baidu currently accounts for around 60 per cent of web searches with Google holding around 22 per cent
A Google spokesperson confirmed that Google has bought a stake in Tianya.cn, but declined to give further details on the acquisition. However, reports from China have suggested the holding could be as much as 60 per cent, although figures ranging from 10 per cent up to 60 per cent have been mentioned.
Tianya.cn offers users a variety of services including user blogs, classified ads, photo sharing, news and sports and, according to traffic monitoring website, Alexa, Tianya.cn is China's sixty-third most popular website with over 20 million registered members. Social networking sites in China have been subject to increasing venture capitalist investment in the wake of Google's acquisition of video sharing site YouTube in late 2006.
As part of the investment, Google has partnered with Tianya to launch a questions-and-answers product similar to Google's ill-fated Google Answers service, which was scrapped by the search giant last year. The new service will be placed in direct competition with Baidu's hugely successful 'Zhidao' service.
Google recently stated its intention to focus on acquiring Chinese internet companies, with Google China president Kai-Fu Lee speaking of one or two acquisitions and as many as four or five investments.
