First, China introduced a tax on real-world profits generated from the sale of virtual goods; now, China’s Ministry of Commerce has released its first regulation of virtual currency. The law explicitly bans the use of virtual money to buy real-world goods or services, and restricts minors from buying any virtual…

Take-Two Interactive (NSDQ: TTWO) is ready to make its first big leap into the online gaming arena, and it’s partnering with Chinese internet and gaming portal Tencent to do it. The publisher has inked a multi-year deal with Tencent to launch the best-selling NBA 2K sports franchise in China. It’s…

A deal between Chinese portal SINA and Focus Media may be falling apart. SINA agreed to purchase some assets from Focus Media (NSDQ: FMCN) in December for roughly $1 billion, including the company’s digital out-of-home ad network. However, according to investment bank JLM Pacific Epoch, which cites a local news…

Hoping to expand its already dominant position in the Chinese internet market, Baidu (NSDQ: BIDU) is on the hunt for an acquisition. CFO Jennifer Li tells Bloomberg News that the “Internet is at an early stage of its development. It’s dynamic, and we need to stay ahead.” Li didn’t provide…

Will third time be luck for the Chinese digital media entertainment provider Hurray? After failing at two previous attempts to be bought, the Nasdaq-traded company has received a new offer from Shanda (NSDQ: SNDA), the online gaming biggie in China, for a majority stake. Under the proposal, Shanda will commence…

Most companies in the digital space are laying low when it comes to M&A these days but China’s Alibaba Group says it plans to spend at least $200 million on acquisitions over the next few years. Wei Zhang, who heads the e-commerce company’s strategic investment unit, told the WSJ Alibaba…

A two-week strike by Baidu’s salesforce that has yet to be fully resolved won’t be a big drag on the company, according to Goldman Sachs analyst James Mitchell. In a note to investors, Mitchell says that even if some salespeople wind up leaving over the pay cuts—which is what sparked…

Workers at the Chinese search engine Baidu have halted a two-week strike over pay cuts to give the company several days to prepare a response. But the two sides have yet to reach a new agreement, and the workers could choose to begin striking again. It’s unclear what kind of…

In China, Baidu (NSDQ: BIDU) is the undisputed king of search, now controlling 60 percent of that market. But Credit Suisse analyst Wallace Cheung says its dominance will start to slip in the next few years, at the hands of Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and e-commerce site Taobao. In a report…

In a sign of the strength of the search market in China, Baidu (NSDQ: BIDU) first quarter 2009 revenue was up 41 percent year on year, to $118.6 million, and operating profit jumped 32 percent, to $29.1 million. Earnings per share was $0.76. Analysts had been expecting revenue of $115…

In what is perhaps the first earnings surprise of this season Activision (NSDQ: ATVI) Blizzard announced this morning that it would beat its first-quarter 2009 forecast issued only two months ago. That forecast was for $860 million in net revenues and earnings per diluted share of $0.08 (according to American…

Baidu, which already controls 64 percent of the search market in China, is now targeting senior citizens. Last month, the search engine launched a specialty site, “Baidu elderly search,” which boasts bigger font sizes as well as links on its home page to sites that older people might like, such…

Glam Media has raised a $10 million fifth round from investors related to its Japanese and German units, paidContent has learned. The Japanese funding comes from Mizuho Venture Capital. The VC arm of the Japanese bank was joined by ad agencies Dentsu and WPP Group-backed ADK; magazine publishers Shogagukan and…

This week, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) officially launched Google Music, its most significant effort yet to eat into Baidu’s dominance of the search market there, since so many searches on Baidu (NSDQ: BIDU) are for free music. Google Music promises to offer both higher-quality and legal downloads than Baidu, which links…

Is Google (NSDQ: GOOG) once again bending its “Don’t be evil” mantra to retain its access to a major Asian market? That’s the suggestion in a report in the Korean paper Hankyoreh, which says that Internet users in South Korea will soon have to enter their resident registration number and…

Google (NSDQ: GOOG) has expanded the breadth of its music search engine in China, signing deals with all four major record labels to put their tracks on the site. The service, launched in August, lets users look up songs by singer, song, album title or beat and then download MP3s…

Sohu.com’s gaming subsidiary, Changyou, is scheduled to be split from its parent company when it goes public this week in a bid to raise about $100 million. peHUB reports the IPO is an important litmus test of interest in Chinese gaming companies among U.S. investors. The last two Chinese gaming…

For the second time in a year, China has blocked Google’s YouTube service, although Chinese authorities won’t give any details as to why. “Many people have a false impression that the Chinese government fears the Internet. In fact, it is just the opposite,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman told Reuters. The…

You couldn’t pick a more inopportune time to launch a new gaming console: video game sales remain strong, but the global financial slump has tanked overall electronics sales. But stealthy startup Zeebo isn’t worried about that. The S.F.-based company unveiled its namesake device at the Game Developers Conference today, a…