Google partners may sever links

Google partners in China are likely to follow billionaire Li Ka-shing's lead and cut links with the US Internet company after it defied the nation's self-censorship rules.

Li's Tom Online stopped using Google's search engine on its portal and media buyer Zenith Optimedia said advertisers it represents may switch to rivals after Google began redirecting mainland users to an unfiltered offshore site.

China Mobile has a deal with Google to provide mobile and Internet services.

"All these guys will have to shy away from Google - the government has made it quite clear it will not favor them," said Paul Wuh, head of telecommunications and Internet research at Samsung Securities in Hong Kong. "People will eventually stop using Google."

"As far as the search business goes, the latest action is effectively a pullout from China," said Steven Chang, the Shanghai-based chief executive officer for China at Zenith Optimedia, which buys advertising from Google and Baidu on behalf of clients. "Google's value proposition to advertisers in China will have been diminished by yesterday's move."

Users of the Google.cn website will now be taken to the Google.com.hk site as the California-based company seeks to operate an uncensored service in China that won’t infringe local laws, the operator said yesterday.