New | China has a new state-run search engine - but will anyone use it?
ChinaSo will be jointly managed by Xinhua News Agency and People's Daily
Featuring a multi-coloured logo reminiscent of Google and search functionality for images, video and a variety of provincial, national and international news, ChinaSo is the result of a merger between Panguso and Jike, two rarely used Chinese search engines.
Panguso was originally launched by China’s Xinhua News Agency in 2011, and Jike by People’s Daily in 2010.
A beta version of ChinaSo went online March 1, and internet users attempting to access Panguso and Jike are now redirected to the ChinaSo homepage.
There has not been any official comment on the merger from the publicity divisions of either company.
According to rumours cited by both Sina Tech and Global Times, staff from the People’s Daily and Xinhua News Agency will jointly manage ChinaSo. Xinhua vice president Zhou Xisheng will serve as the site's CEO and People’s Daily deputy editor Ma Li will act as president.
Zhang Yi, CEO of Shenzhen research company iiMedia Research, told Global Times reporters that ChinaSo is similar to its now-defunct predecessors, and will likely grant users easier access to official news reports and information directly from the government.