An official with the State Council Information Office says Chinese Internet authorities want more information on Google's statement that it may quit business operations in China. The official made the remarks in a phone interview with Xinhua News Agency.

The unnamed official says Chinese authorities are searching for more information on Google. It is still unclear, whether Google will cease operations in China or not.

The statement was the Chinese government's first public response to Google's announcement it is considering shutting its Google.cn website and its offices in China after hacking attacks.

Google's corporate development and chief legal officer, David Drummond, posted a statement on the company's official blog Tuesday, saying it will review the feasibility of Google's business operations in China.

Drummond's post claims censorship in China and recent attacks targeting Google's services are forcing the company to review its Chinese operations.

Drummond's post also says Google will try to negotiate with the Chinese government for more favorable operating conditions in China.

If Google decides to cease operations in China, about 700 employees in China would lose their jobs.

Recently, the world's largest Internet search engine encountered a series of setbacks in China. Last June, authorities ordered Google to block vulgar content as part of a government campaign to combat on-line pornography.

In October, a group of Chinese authors accused Google of violating copyright laws with its digital library. Tuesday, Google postponed negotiating with Chinese writers and gave no reason for the delay of the meeting.

China is one of the few markets where Google is not the industry leader. Chinese based web portal, Baidu commands a 60 percent share of the country's Internet search market versus Google's 30 percent.

Google's announcement made an immediate impact in trading on the NASDAQ in New York. Google shares fell 1.3 percent after news it might withdraw from China. Baidu on the other hand jumped 6.8 percent.