Baidu, a local search engine, held nearly 57 percent of the market by the end of June, according to Analysys International, a Beijing-based IT research company.

In comparison, Google's share was merely around 16 percent.

Credit Suisse Group estimated that Baidu's market share would rise to 56 percent next year, almost triple Google's projected 19 percent, according to a September 28 report.

In 2004, Google bought 2.6 percent of Baidu's stake in the company's last round of financing before its share offering on the NASDAQ. Google later cashed out after Baidu's listing.

Zou Shenglong and Cheng Hao, two computer graduates from Duke University, established Xunlei in 2003.

The Shenzhen-based company is said to have raised around $10 million in its previous round of financing from IDG and Morningside Technologies, two venture capital firms.

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