China Rejects Wikipedia, Starts Its Own Version

Baidu, the leading search engine in China, has launched a site that approximates Wikipedia but with none of the content that prompted the Chinese government to block Wikipedia last year. Chinese authorities exert strong control over Internet content available in the country, and Wikipedia includes enough material deemed objectionable that the entire site is unavailable. Robin Li, chairman of Baidu, said his company’s new site, Baike, was inspired by Wikipedia, though he said he has never actually seen Wikipedia. China is second only to the United States in Internet users, and Chinese users have reportedly written more than 25,000 Baike entries in the past week. Li said, “I certainly hope our encyclopedia will be the most authoritative one for any Chinese users.”

San Jose Mercury News, 12 May 2006