Search-engine giant Google has said it is considering withdrawing from the lucrative Chinese market, citing concerns over its controversial acceptance of strict Chinese censorship rules in the past and a sophisticated hacking attempt on its computers that the company says originated in China itself.

The cyber attacks took place last week on several Google companies and aimed at the gmail accounts of  Chinese dissidents. The US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said “We have been briefed by Google on these allegations, which raise very serious concerns and questions. We look to the Chinese government for an explanation”. US President Barack Obama said last November on a visit to Shanghai that the USA was committed to freedom of information on the Internet.

Google opened shop in China in 2006, hoping to cash in on an online population that exceeds the entire population of the USA, some 330 million users. It agreed to restrict its search results to material acceptable to the Chinese government.

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