'Chinese Google' to debut on stock market

Baidu.com, a concern aiming to become the Chinese-language equivalent of internet search giant Google, is poised to follow the US giant’s example with an initial public stock market offering in America, hoping to raise €36.2m.

Little known abroad, five-year-old Baidu says it already is the world’s sixth most-visited internet site, thanks to a strong following from China’s 100 million-plus web surfers.