On August 20, Google officially launched two research products "Tianya Questions & Answers" and "Tianya Laiba" by cooperating with Tianya Online Network Technology Company Ltd. (Tianya), a Chinese forum builder. This is the first time that Google has collaborated with its partners to launch products. Xing Ming, Tianya's board chairman and president, said that his company is preparing to be listed in the Shenzhen Stock Market.

Xing agreed with Kai-fu Lee, the vice-president of Google Inc. and the president of Google China, that their companies' cooperation was ideal. In addition, Kai-fu Lee said, "China has a very large market and I hope that the collaboration (with Tianya) can be an innovation in building online forums."

It is reported that Google has purchased 60 percent of Tianya. But some sources close to Tianya said that, given its huge traffic Tianya's senior managers refuse to allow their company to be held by any foreign company easily and Google could only hold a maximum of 10 percent of Tianya's shares.

For more details, please read the full story in Chinese. (http://www.dfdaily.com/node2/node27/node120/userobject1ai23061.shtml)

(China.org.cn August 21 2007)