The blockage highlights a dilemma for Internet companies seeking to capitalize on China's booming Internet audience, which is still under the control of a government that censors content .

"I foresee this sort of stuff happening well into the future," Yankee Group senior analyst Aditya Puri told NewsFactor. "I think there's going to be a long and arduous process before the Chinese see the Internet as you and I do."

Searches Stifled

Google spokesperson Cindy McCaffrey told NewsFactor that the search engine, which rose to the top by keeping its site and searches simple, learned about the Chinese blockage from users.

"We were notified by our users that access to Google was being blocked in China, and we currently are working with Chinese authorities to resolve the issue," she said.

Google could not provide the number of Chinese users of its search engine, but said in a statement that it is working on restoring service to "millions of Chinese users."

Google Go-Around

Gartner research director French Caldwell told NewsFactor that Google has a specially designed version of its site to reach the Chinese Internet audience, which numbers 46 million users and trails only the United States in size.

Caldwell said that because Google caches or reproduces Web pages on its own, it represents a way for Chinese users to gain access to the estimated 500,000 Web sites that are blocked by the Chinese government.

"Google is one way the Chinese users get around the blockage," he said. "They may not be able to link directly to a site, but they can link to a cached version of the site. That's probably what's really irritating the Chinese."

Struggle and Censorship

Caldwell indicated that an ongoing leadership struggle in China and a pending Communist Party convention may be the underlying reasons for the tightened Internet content control. "When you have a large political event going on there, this is not surprising," he said.

He said that rather than agreeing to let the Chinese government curtail or control content on its site, Google might want to wait out the party conference, which is set for November. While other Internet companies, including Yahoo, have agreed to let Chinese officials censor Web site content, Caldwell said Google is in a different position.

"I think it puts Google in a tight spot," he said. "They're seen as the most free mass information source that's out there, because, unwittingly, Google has produced its own version of freedom of information."

Still, Caldwell said, Google may have little choice but to agree to Chinese officials' terms if it wants to reach China's huge Internet audience.

"It all depends on how much they think they need access," Caldwell said. "It wouldn't surprise me if Google did this, but it would upset the culture that's grown up around Google."