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China's population of Internet users jumped by nearly a third to 384 million at the end of last year, an official report showed on Friday, days after Google threatened to retreat from the expanding market.

Chinese internet users, already the largest in the world, have grown even more to 384 million by the end of 2009, a Chinese research group said Friday.

China sought on Friday to play down a threat by Google Inc to quit the country on hacking and censorship concerns, saying any decision by the Internet search giant would not affect U.S. trade ties.

The United States has backed Google's decision to no longer support China's censoring of Internet searches and said the issue was of considerable economic importance as well as involving free information flow.

Microsoft Corp has no plans to pull out of China, its chief executive said on Thursday, playing down concerns about recent cyber-attacks and censorship raised by rival Google Inc.

Recent sophisticated cyber attacks on Google Inc and other businesses exploited a previously unknown flaw in Microsoft Corp's Internet Explorer browser.

Google Inc's potential departure from China may not prompt others to follow suit, but its high-profile declaration could help shine a light on the business environment in the world's third-largest economy.

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U.S. Internet giant Google has threatened to shut its China operations after cyber attacks emanating from the country, in response to which Beijing defended its censorship policies.

A senior Chinese official told companies to support the government's Internet controls on Thursday, suggesting scant room for compromise with Google after the company threatened to quit China over censorship and hacking.

Google Inc, involved in high-stakes brinkmanship with the Chinese government, might still seek ways to market other products in the country even if it quits its China search business.

The launch of the Google Nexus One was undoubtedly one of the most hyped phone releases so far this year. However, early reports of its first week of sales, show dismal results.

China defended its extensive censorship and brushed aside hacking claims on Thursday, telling companies not to buck state control of the Internet after U.S. search giant Google threatened to quit the country.

Google Inc says it may be forced to leave China, but the search giant has room to compromise in its battle with Beijing, and both sides have reason to do so.

China told companies to back state control of the Internet on Thursday, showing no sign of giving ground on censorship after U.S. Internet giant Google threatened to quit the country.

U.S. Internet giant Google's threat to withdraw from China is generating an outpouring of nationalist fervor from the country's online community, with some cheering it as a victory for the Chinese.

A law firm representing a U.S. software maker that is suing China for code theft said it has been targeted by Chinese hackers, a day after Google Inc. threatened to withdraw from the country following similar attacks.

Cyber attacks on Google Inc's China operations could scare businesses and consumers into spending more on protection, benefiting security companies like McAfee Inc, Symantec Corp and Trend Micro.

Google's threat to quit China over censorship and hacking intensified Sino-U.S. frictions on Wednesday as Washington said it had serious concerns and demanded an explanation from Beijing.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke urged China on Wednesday to ensure a secure commercial environment for Google and other U.S. companies after the world's top search engine said it may shut its Chinese-language website because of cyber attacks.

Macquarie University and Google have once again teamed up for an Australian first - this time by agreeing to provide 6,000 Gmail accounts to the University's research, teaching and administrative staff.

Google's threat to quit China over censorship and hacking intensified Sino-U.S. frictions on Wednesday as Washington said it had serious concerns and demanded an explanation from Beijing.

Google Inc and other companies were investigating on cyber attack by China and more details have emerged.

Five of France's biggest book sellers called on publishing houses and the government for support in creating a new retail structure for electronic books to fend off Amazon, Google and Apple.

Google should carry out its threat to withdraw from China. The US search giant says a cyber-attack on its intellectual property, and attempts to access email data from human rights activists, have driven it to the edge.

Google Inc announced Tuesday it is no longer willing to continue censoring Internet search results in China, and that it may shut down the google.cn website and pull its offices in the country.

Google has embarked on a game of brinksmanship in China, saying it may quit the world's biggest Internet market by users after hackers apparently looking for information on dissidents broke into its China site.

Google Inc's threat to withdraw from China over censorship and cyber attacks has suddenly jeopardized any plans it has for the world's biggest Internet market, stunning investors and analysts.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, lifted by a broker's upgrade of Merck & Co and a higher profit outlook from Kraft Foods Inc.