Search giant Google could pull out of China within a matter of weeks according to a report by Beijing-based newspaper Chinese Business News.
The paper quotes an authorised sales agent for the company who said he has “received information that Google will leave China on April 10, but this information has not at present been confirmed by Google”.
A Google spokesperson has declined to comment on the story according to a report by the Times.
Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, said last week that talks with the Chinese are ongoing, and while he expected progress “soon”, would not release further details.
There has been considerable speculation since Google announced in January that it was no longer prepared to censor its search results on Google.cn. The announcement followed the hacking of several Gmail accounts belonging to Chinese human rights activists.