Google faces pressure as China to decide on licence

Google Inc could face further pressure for its other products in China as Beijing is due to decide whether or not to renew a licence for the firm's flagship search engine in the world's largest Internet market.

In an effort to keep its China licence, Google said on Wednesday it will stop automatically redirecting China users to its uncensored Hong Kong site within the next 48 hours.

Beijing has been silent on whether a compromise system will be enough to allow Google to stay in the lucrative market the world's largest with nearly 400 million users, where local powerhouse Baidu Inc is the top dog.

"If they lose this licence, the trend is moving in the wrong direction for Google, it seems likely they will have trouble with their other licences in China as well," said T.R. Harrington, chief executive of search consulting firm Darwin Marketing.

Google unexpected warned in January it might quit the country over censorship concerns and after suffering a hacker attack it said came from within China.

Now, Google also faces the hurdle of needing to get a licence for its popular Google Maps product in China.

China recently released new requirements for firms keen to provide online mapping services, and unveiled a preliminary list of companies allowed to get the license.

Google, with its popular Google Maps product, was not on the list, although a source familiar with the situation said the handful of approved companies was not final.

Google said it was examining the impact of the new regulations on its products.