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Interesting bit from Gary Price over at SearchEngineWatch regarding censorship in China that he gathered from BusinessWeek Online. China’s government is very strict about what it sees as acceptable word usage over the Internet. Companies such as MSN, Google and Yahoo! have even conceded to the Chinese government to help enforce censorship laws

From the BusinessWeek article: “It’s no secret that Western Internet companies have to hew to the party line if they want to do business in China. Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), and scores of other outfits, both domestic and foreign, have made concessions to China’s censors. The latest high-profile example: In December, Microsoft’s (MSFT) MSN shut down a Chinese blogger’s site at the government’s request.”

When Skype comes into play in China, it will filter certain words, such as “Dalai Lama,” from conversations.

Check out the original article at BusinessWeek Online, titled The Great Firewall of China.

Google is branching further into the mobile market. Today, Research In Motion (RIM) and Google announced a deal that will see Google Talk and Google Local supported on Blackberry handsets.

Google Talk is an instant messaging program that allows users to exchange text messages over the Internet. Google Talk for Blackberry is built specifically for the handheld devices, granting users the same functionality across a wireless network. Google Local for Blackberry provides users with draggable maps, satellite images and directions.

Both Google Talk and Google Local are free services, “subject to any data service rates applicable for downloading and using the applications with a limited data plan.” However, to access Google Talk users will require a Gmail, or Google email account.

“Instant messaging and local content are two increasingly important areas of focus for mobile applications and we are very pleased to work with Google in extending these two popular Google services to BlackBerry users,” said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Research In Motion. “Google Talk for BlackBerry and Google Local for mobile will offer additional flexibility to BlackBerry customers in terms of how, when and where they stay in touch.”