Google with Chinese Characteristics

Maybe Google should change its motto from "Don't be Evil" to "Don't be Evil, unless you really need the market share".

Online search engine leader Google Inc. has agreed to censor its results in China, adhering to the country's free-speech restrictions in return for better access in the Internet's fastest growing market.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company planned to roll out a new version of its search engine bearing China's Web suffix ".cn," on Wednesday. A Chinese-language version of Google's search engine has previously been available through the company's dot-com address in the United States.

By creating a unique address for China, Google hopes to make its search engine more widely available and easier to use in the world's most populous country.

On the other hand, at least Google is fighting the good fight at home in terms of keeping our searches away from the prying eyes of Big Brother. Still, it's just as well to keep some excuses handy in case the the law comes a knockin'.