Writing in the Live Expo blog Garry Wiseman, the Expo project leader, expressed surprise at the discovery.
"The shocking thing is that the website in question is owned by one of China's largest search engines called Sina.com. Couldn't they afford to hire a designer?"
A latter update to the post explains Wiseman's reasons for making the post.
"The post above was mainly intended to raise the issue of cross-border copyright infringements and signal that it's not acceptable. I wasn't expecting much sympathy (the usual MS bashing / irony comments were expected),"
Microsoft invites readers to compare the two designs and judge for themselves whether Sina's design is original or not. Attention is drawn to the pushpin/map pin which appears in the darker blue strip near the top of Microsoft's design as the "Post a Listing" option.
In 1994 Apple Computer took Microsoft Corp to Court in order to try and prevent the software giant from using a visual graphical user interface (GUI) which, Apple said, was too similar to the GUI used on Apple Macintosh computers. During the suit, Xerox filed against Apple claiming that the original design belonged to them.
Windows Live Expo has moved on to a new design and the functionality of the blue bar previously at the top of the page now appears in the top of the right-hand side navigation. The change is noted by Microsoft, "We've moved on to a new UI (although we still use the pushpin icon for various things) so we were more bemused by what Sina was doing."
Sina Corporation is a Nasdaq listed company and provides web services to Greater China and the global Chinese community. At Q2 2006 Sina posted an increase of net revenue of 16% to $53.7 million. The increase beat expectation and was, in part, due to a 45% increase in advertising revenue which accounted for $29.5 million. Sina owns the Chinese search engine iAsk.
The search engine landscape in China differs significantly from Europe and America. Google and Yahoo face tough challenges from local companies like Sina and Baidu. Google bought a minority share in Baidu for $5m in 2004 and sold in 2006 for $60m".
Google and Yahoo have each faced criticism for appearing to co-operate the Chinese government.
Window Live Expo is a free classified service provided by Microsoft. Users are able to post or search for items for sale, information, jobs, or upcoming events. Live Expo integrates with Live Maps and Microsoft's popular Live Messenger.
