Google to ramp up hiring in China

Google will be hiring a bunch of new employees in China, in an attempt to increase competitive pressure against Baidu. Most of the jobs will be in technology and sales and marketing -- and half going to new university grads. Google China currently has around 600 employees, but that should increase to around 1200 to 1600 as they say this hiring trend should last for at least 3 to 5 years.

Google has been trying hard in China to become the most used search engine -- but they continue to struggle. Recently, Google started testing out a new Google China homepage that is more trendy, and a few days ago even added the "Xiao Gu", or Mini Gu. This little guy gives users tips on how to most effectively use the search engine.

It will be interesting to see if Google eventually dominates the Chinese search market, as it's trying to topple a search giant that already exists -- not unlike Microsoft or Yahoo trying to gain market share over Google. It will be interesting to see if their efforts in China will bear fruit.