When Google Inc formally opened its engineering centre in Beijing yesterday,
the Internet search giant also gave itself a Chinese name.
Eric Schmidt (L),
Internet giant Google Inc.'s Chief Executive Officer, and Li Kaifu,
President of Google China, attend the news conference of the launch of
Google's Chinese name in Beijing April 12, 2006. Google said it has
adopted the Chinese-language brand name 'GUGE' for its Chinese operations.
The Chinese characters in the picture read 'GUGE'. [AP
Photo] |
Trying to make it easier for Chinese people to use its services, and in turn
capture more users, US-based Google said it would also go by the name Gu Ge,
which means "song of the harvest of grain."
It is the first time Google, which lags behind in China's Web search market,
has given itself a new name in another language.
"Our No 1 goal here by far is to serve Chinese users, who want useful
information on the Internet," said Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive
officer.
China overtook the United States as the world's largest Internet market in
terms of users last week and will "continue to lead the world for many, many,
many years," Schmidt said.
Schmidt is visiting China with about half of Google's senior executives to
have a closer look at the market, after the US giant last September announced
its plan for the engineering centre in Beijing.
The centre has recruited about 80 engineering graduates in China, 15 from
Google's headquarters in the Silicon Valley, California and five top search
scientists from around the world, according to Kai-fu Lee, corporate
vice-president and president of Google China.
"Most of our investment is in people," said Schmidt, adding the number of
employees will soon grow to "a few thousand" in coming several years.
Google already has another engineering institute in Taipei, but it aims to
have increased, larger research facilities in Beijing, Shanghai, and other
cities in China.
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