China's richest prefer Baidu over Google, survey finds

China's wealthiest entrepreneurs prefer to use Chinese Internet search engine Baidu.com instead of rival Google, according to the results of a recent survey conducted by Hurun Report, a Chinese magazine.

Baidu is the preferred Internet search engine among China's richest entrepreneurs, with Google coming in second place, Hurun Report said. It did not give the percentage figures for its results.

On a regional basis, Baidu was ranked first in seven of 10 cities and provinces surveyed by the magazine. Google finished first in three of these regions: Shanghai, Guangdong province, and Jiangsu province, according to the survey.

The findings were reported as part of a wider survey on brand preferences conducted by Hurun Report. To complete the survey, the magazine questioned 600 Chinese entrepreneurs with a personal net worth of 10 million renminbi ($1.2 million) or more, including 177 respondents with a net worth of 100 million renminbi or more, according to its Web site.

That sample is not representative of China's population, many of whom struggle to make ends meet, often working long hours for low pay. In 2004, China's estimated per capita GDP (gross domestic product) was $5,600.

Even so, the Hurun Report findings echo the results of research conducted in Beijing and Shanghai by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).

In an August survey, CNNIC found that 51.5 percent of the Web users surveyed in Beijing preferred Baidu, while 32.9 percent preferred Google. The results were closer in Shanghai, where 43.9 percent of respondents preferred Baidu and 38.2 percent preferred Google, it said.

Hurun Report's findings contrast with a report released last month by S.G. Cowen Co., which found that on average those who use Google in the U.S. are wealthier and more familiar with the Internet. In the U.S., people who use Google are more likely to have household incomes above $60,000 than people who use competing search engines, S.G. Cowen found.