SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Web services leader Google Inc. (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) has won a license to operate in China and has bought a Web address as it battles Yahoo Inc. (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) in the world's second-largest Internet market. The U.S. Web services giant, which makes its money from searches, advertising and other services, is hiring staff with the aim of opening an office in the country this year, according to several sources within or close to the company. Source: Reuters

About Chinese search engine:

- China's online search market was worth an estimated 1.25 billion yuan ($150 million) last year, up 81 percent from 2003, according to Shanghai iResearch. But competition is intensifying.

- Baidu led the market with a 36.3 percent share, followed by Yahoo with 22.7 percent and Google with 21.2 percent.

- Google Chinese keyword ranking software