Chinese Firms Tapped By Google For Selling Ads

Google stepped up the pace of its expansion in China -- and competition with new stock-market star Baidu.com, by tapping three Chinese companies to sell advertisements for its China site.

Google named China Enterprise, China Source and Hotsales authorized resellers for Google AdWords on Tuesday, adding China to the roster of locales, including the United States, Britain and Latin America, where it has reseller programs.

The search advertising market in China remains small, attracting total ad revenue of just $148 million in 2004, according to iResearch of Shanghai. But strong growth in online advertising more broadly has buoyed Internet portals like Sina and Sohu.com and hinted at the promise of the fast-growing, enormous marketplace.