The Outcome and the Consequences of Microsoft vs. Google
Living under the shadows of Internet censorship, here in China we are used to the fact that foreign websites are inaccessible and foreign Internet companies are treated as if they are all secretly working as cyber-spies for the American government. But when it comes to Microsoft and Google, two of the world's probably best known companies involved with the Internet, the attitude of the Chinese government have been quite different. While Google has been in a constant fight to get itself greater market share over Baidu, Microsoft's MSN has seen strong growth in instant messaging despite strong domestic competition. At the same time, while Bill Gates is quite an honored personality here in China, the higher ends of Google has not seen strong following in either the Chinese government or the public. As the Chinese Internet market heads to its destiny as the world's largest, Microsoft versus, one of the most peculiar yet influential rivalry in the human civilization increasin