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Google Inc said on Tuesday that it is considering shutting down its China operations and website after hackers in China coordinated a highly sophisticated cyber-attack on the Internet search giant in December and targeted at least a score of other major corporations.

Stocks edged lower on Wednesday as a fall in the price of oil weighed on energy shares and Google Inc slumped after it said it might withdraw from China, weighing on the Nasdaq.

Wall Street looked set for a modest rise on Wednesday as a positive outlook from Kraft Foods Inc revived hopes for a strong earnings season, and Chinese Internet search engine Baidu Inc surged on news rival Google Inc may pull out of China.

ther internet search businesses operating in China could benefit from Google's possible exit from the market over censorship issues

Stock index futures rose on Wednesday as a positive outlook from Kraft Foods Inc revived hopes of a strong earnings season, and Chinese Internet search engine Baidu Inc surged on news rival Google Inc may pull out of China.

Google's announcement that it may quit China over censorship and hacking drew applause, warnings and bouquets from dissidents and Internet activists on Wednesday, with few seeing much chance of the wary government giving ground.

Google Inc threatened to quit China, the world's biggest Internet market, warning it would no longer tolerate strict censorship of its Google.cn search engine.

Internet giant Google Inc has made a shock threat to quit China, the world's biggest Internet market by users, after hackers accessed human rights activists' e-mail accounts.

Google Inc may pull out of China because of censorship and cyber attacks on rights activists, further straining Sino-U.S. relations as Washington prepared to tackle global Internet censorship.

Google Inc said it may pull out of China because it is no longer willing to accept censorship of its search results, in a surprise retreat from the world's largest Internet market by users.

The United States and Google Inc separately said they would move against Chinese Internet censorship, possibly signaling the start of a harder line toward China by U.S. President Barack Obama and the end of Google's business in the country.

Google Inc is considering shutting down its China operations and website after hackers in China coordinated a highly sophisticated cyber-attack on the Internet search giant in December and targeted at least a score of other major corporations, it said on Tuesday.

Google, Inc executives in the U.S. have ordered a review of the search giant's operations in China and are considering shutting its local site and offices there if talks with the Chinese government about having an unfiltered search engine within the law fall through.

France wants to start a digital book exchange with Internet giant Google to solve a spat over online publication of the world's literary heritage, according to a government report published on Tuesday.

Google Inc's venture capital arm, Google Ventures, is bringing more partners onboard as the $100 million fund seeks to build upon the eight investments it has made in companies since its launch last spring.

Google Inc's new Nexus One smartphone, which retails for $529 without a service plan, is built from components that cost about $174, according to a research report.

Microsoft Corp. has pulled almost every version of Office from its own online store in compliance with a court order after a patent dispute with Canadian firm i4i.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said that online privacy is no longer the social norm as users of social networking sites like Facebook become more comfortable sharing information on the Internet.

Internet search engine Google Inc is becoming a giant monopoly like Microsoft and could face legal action if it does not become more transparent, Germany's justice minister said.

Google Inc executive Andy Rubin said on Friday that the next version of the Nexus One phone, which was made by HTC Corp, will be for enterprise users and might have a physical keyboard.

Apple tablet supply chain points to Q2 launch: source. Suppliers for Apple Inc's new tablet computer have begun shipping touchscreen panels and will start delivering aluminum casings for it next month, sources said, implying a second-quarter product launch.

Google Inc has asked the main U.S. energy regulator for authority to buy and sell electricity in the wholesale market to help manage its huge energy needs, as the Internet giant's big data centers soak up large amounts of power.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday that he wanted the authorities to explore whether online advertising revenues of major search engines could be taxed in France as well as their home countries.

Google Inc sweetened its bid for On2 Technologies with a cash portion that boosts the deal value by 20 percent to $134 million, months after shareholders of the video compression technology company balked at the initial price.

Motorola Inc (MOT.N) said it will sell a new inside-out Android flip-phone with a keyboard and display on the outside, and is considering joining the latest craze for tablet computing devices.

Google Inc sweetened its bid for On2 Technologies with a cash portion the boosts the deal value by 20 percent to $134 million, months after shareholders of the video compression technology company balked at the initial price.

Future hazy as Google makes waves; China sued over Internet filter; Fed sees jobs turnaround

The smoke has finally cleared on Google Inc's highly anticipated Nexus One smartphone, but the ramifications of the Internet company's new role as a mobile phone vendor are still hazy.

France could start taxing Internet advertising revenues from online giants such as Google, using the funds to support creative industries that have been hit by the digital revolution, a newspaper reported on Thursday.