Microsoft launches advertising platform in China

Microsoft has launched an advertising platform in China in an attempt to grab market share from rival Google, which has been wrangling with Beijing over censorship, state media said yesterday.

The US internet titan’s adCenter will target Chinese exporters wanting to advertise overseas, said Anderson Liu, general manager of Microsoft’s domestic joint venture MSN China.

“It’s time to join the market and let Chinese advertisers have more choices,” Liu was quoted by the China Daily as saying.

AdCenter helps businesses place advertisements online such as on Microsoft’s Bing search engine.

Microsoft hopes revenue from the pay-per-click ads will account for half of MSN China’s business in the future, Liu said, without providing further details.

In July, Google parted ways with two Chinese advertisers following its standoff with Beijing over censorship and cyber attacks the US search giant claims originated in China.

Google cut ties with Universal Internet Media and Xi’an Weihua Network, two major advertising agencies that worked in eastern and northwestern China, the China Daily said, citing Marsha Wang, Google China spokeswoman.

In January, Google said it would not buckle to Chinese government pressure to censor its content, and threatened to pull out of the country entirely.