WebProNews

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and here's a new search engine!  Or not.  Baidu seems to have realized the last item on that list might not get as much attention as the other two, and as a result, the company pushed back a planned expansion into Japan.

Baidu's had a presence in Japan for some time now; we've covered the subject when a site first launched in March, and as issues of naming rights and censorship arose in later months.  This new developments represents an exit from the testing stage, though, and the beginning of Baidu's bid to become a major player.

Up until now, Baidu's Japanese service "only allowed users to search for websites and pictures," notes Julie Kent.  "With the launch later this month, users will have access to additional search types."  The launch, according to Kent, will take place on January 23rd.

So we'll see what will happen at that time.  Baidu, though dominant in China, hasn't had much luck outside that country; blame the differences in language and culture that every company faces, if you like, or the fact that there's no censorship working in its favor.

In any event, at least Baidu had the smarts to compete only with other search engines, and not with Christmas and New Year's.