China Mobile and Xinhua launch Internet search engine
A security guard stands next to a China Mobile logo outside the China Mobile building in central Beijing September 8, 2010. Shares in China Mobile Ltd fell 3.6 percent on Wednesday after Vodafone Group Plc disposed of its 3.2 percent stake in the country's largest mobile carrier for $6.5 billion. REUTERS

China Mobile Ltd, the world's biggest mobile operator, and state-run Xinhua News Agency have jointly launched an Internet search engine, the companies said on Tuesday.

The search engine, www.panguso.com, would be operated by a joint venture company set up by the two, and would also be available for mobile users, they said in a statement carried by Xinhua.

With more than 450 million users, China is the world's largest Internet market.

Its search market grew 67 percent in the fourth quarter to 3.2 billion yuan ($486.8 million), with Baidu Inc holding a dominant 73 percent of the market by revenue compared with Google Inc's 24 percent, according to data from iResearch.

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