Still waiting for China licence decision: Google

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

BEIJING: Google's application for renewal of its licence to operate in China, the world's largest Internet market, is still under review, a company spokeswoman and a government official said Wednesday.

The US web giant, embroiled in a row with Beijing over state censorship, is awaiting word that its Internet Content Provider licence vital to its operations in a country with more than 400 million web users is still valid.

Google China spokeswoman Marsha Wang, who said the company, was still awaiting a final decision, explained that its ICP licence remains valid as long as the government has not expressly rejected it.

"The licence runs till 2012. The licence needs to be checked every year," Wang told foreign news agency. "Everything will be as usual if the company passes the check," she said, however adding that the government could opt to cancel the licence ahead of the 2012 deadline.