Google under fire over its choice of Chinese name

Google Inc, the world's largest Internet search company, was facing a new controversy in China yesterday, just two weeks after it launched with the Chinese name Gu Ge (谷歌).

After coming under fire for agreeing to self-censorship, Google's choice of Gu Ge, meaning "valley song" and meant to signify traditional songs that celebrate a rich harvest, has been mocked by www.noguge.com, which started an online petition demanding a name change.

More than 10,000 users have signed the petition, rejecting Gu Ge as being "garbage" or "unpleasant" and offering more than 50 alternatives.

By yesterday 4,820 users had said they favored Google renaming itself Gou Gou (狗狗), which translates as "doggy," while others preferred the Chinese for service dog and paternal aunt. Also gathering votes was Gou Le (夠了), which means "enough."

A Google spokeswoman was quoted in Chinese media as saying that Google would take no legal action against the site and was willing to discuss the name with the critics.

The name had been selected by Google CEO Eric Schmidt from 1,800 choices to symbolize a "fruitful and productive search experience," it was announced at the name launch on April 12.

Though Google's competitors such as Microsoft and Yahoo had already complied with Chinese censorship requirements, it attracted heavy criticism because it was the last major global search engine to do so, justifying the move as abiding to local "laws and customs."

China's Internet police block hundreds of Web sites that are deemed politically sensitive and try to keep content broadly in line with the ruling Communist Party's ideology.

Separately, Google has denied a report that it may buy China's Sina Corp (新浪).

"Google is not in talks with Sina," Johnny Chou (周韶寧), Google's president of sales and business development for the Greater China region, which includes Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau, said today by telephone.

Business Week reported in its "Inside Wall Street" column that Google is considering acquiring Sina, China's biggest Internet portal, to expand in the nation.

Sina is a potential acquisition target because it is cheaper than its peers, Business Week said, citing investment firm Clay Finlay's Jane Hsieh, who manages a US$7 billion portfolio invested throughout Asia.

"Google has never approached us about a possible acquisition," Sina president Charles Chao (趙廣民) said by telephone.

Alibaba.com Corp (阿里巴巴), Focus Media Holding Ltd (分眾傳媒控股) and Tom Online Inc may also make offers to buy Sina, according to the report in the magazine, which cited Ming Shao of Susquehanna Financial Group.

Google China president Lee Kai-fu (李開復) said in an April 13 interview that the search engine may buy domestic companies to "grow our talent base, technology and portfolio."