China's Internet search market was worth 2 billion yuan ($293 million) in the third quarter, up 38 percent, as global search leader Google Inc continued to expand its market share in China, research firm Analysys International said on Wednesday.
Google had 31.3 percent of China's Internet search market in the third quarter, up from 29.1 percent in the last quarter, while homegrown search leader Baidu Inc had the lion's share with 63.9 percent.
Google has been intensifying its efforts in China in a bid to catch Baidu in the country's rapidly growing search market where users grew to 235 million in June, up about a third from a year ago, according to government data. On Monday, Baidu warned of weaker-than-expected fourth quarter revenue as its transition to a new advertising keyword system faced some customer resistance.
Analysts said the hasty move to transit to the new system provided a window of opportunity for Google to cut into Baidu's market share.
