Baidu shanghais Wikipedia
p2p news / p2pnet: Baidu.com, China’s main internet search site in which Google the Pure has a stake, has ripped off Wikipedia.
So does that mean free speech has finally arrived in China? Of course not.
With the highly original name of Baidupedia, “unlike the original Wikipedia, the site does not allow users to update information as and when they please,” says vnunet.com.
“The Chinese version includes a moderator function, so that any content which might offend the Chinese government can be removed before it appears online.”
Its FAQ also, “dissuades writers from attacking the current government, along with its institutions and systems, or putting forward a negative view of life’[," says the story, adding:
"In setting up the new service, Baidu claimed that it was unaware that the Wikipedia online encyclopaedia has been blocked by the Chinese government since 2005."
Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Baidu:
"Baidu (Chinese: 百度; Pinyin: bǎi dù) (NASDAQ: BIDU) is a Chinese search engine which can search text and images. As of May 2006, it is fourth in Alexa's internet rankings.[1] Baidu translates to “hundreds of times” in English.”
Also See:
vnunet.com – China launches its own Wikipedia, May 12, 2006
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If you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent website blocking outside of China.
Download it here and feel free to copy the zip and host it yourself so others can download it.
