Will 'phoenix Nest' incubate same-feather bird?

Top Chinese search engine Baidu is expected to fully operationalize its Phoenix Nest advertising system tomorrow, by which time the new system will clearly distinguish search ads from normal, or organic, search results. That means the controversial keyword advertising bidding system is going to step off the stage.

Baidu's keyword bidding system has been under fire because it mixed paid and organic results. Even now, users are not able to tell the CPC (cost per click) from normal search results, and consequently, many of them have been tricked by scam ads.

This time, however, Baidu seems to have made up its mind to draw a clear distinction between the two kinds of results. "Noticeable changes will appear on the search pages", says a company employee.