China Mobile, Xinhua launch Internet search engine

China Mobile Ltd, the world's biggest mobile operator, and state-run Xinhua News Agency have jointly launched an Internet search engine, the companies said on Tuesday.

The search engine, www.panguso.com, would be operated by a joint venture company set up by the two, and would also be available for mobile users, they said in a statement carried by Xinhua.

With more than 450 million users, China is the world's largest Internet market.

Its search market grew 67% in the fourth quarter to 3.2 billion yuan ($486.8 million), with Baidu Inc holding a dominant 73% of the market by revenue compared with Google Inc's 24%, according to data from iResearch.