Google says China has renewed its license

Search giant's local partner pledges to ‘provide no lawbreaking contents’ -

Even if Web surfers in mainland China click on Google.cn to get to the Hong Kong search engine, China's government can still block results by using technology controls commonly known as its "Great Firewall."

Losing the Chinese license would have been a significant setback for Google, even though China will only account for a fraction of the company's projected $28 billion in revenue this year. China already has emerged as the Internet's most populous market with nearly 400 million Web surfers, and usage is expected to rise for years to come.

The downside of compromise The latest compromise threatens to curtail Google's growth in China simply because it requires hundreds of millions of users to take an extra step to get to Google's search engine. The single additional click could diminish traffic and send Web surfers to more convenient options, such as the homegrown Baidu.com.

If that happens, Google will have fewer opportunities to show the ads that bring in virtually all its revenue.

Still, investors were relieved that Google get did not get kicked out of China's rapidly growing Internet market. Google shares edged up on the news, gaining $10.93, or 2.4 percent, to close Friday at $467.49. The stock remains down by about 25 percent so far this year, partly because of fallout from the company's stand against China's stringent censorship rules. 

Read the entire story here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38163331/ns/technology_and_science/

In March Google was reported 99.9% certain to shutter China search engine.