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"Google is in discussions with the Chinese government as it seeks the granting of a license required to continue to operate its Google Maps service in the country.\r\n\r\nUpdated below with government confirmation of Google's application.\r\n\r\nThis morning, Chinese media reported\u00A0that Google would miss the deadline to apply for the license, however a company spokesperson confirmed to The Next Web that negotiations are ongoing:\r\nWe're currently in discussions with the government about how we can offer a maps product in China.\r\nGoogle offered no further comment on the issue but it is notable that the license to operate a mapping service is a new introduction, and this is the first round of applications that the government has received.\r\n\r\nThe confusion appears to be in reference to today's deadline which is for firms to send initial license requests to\u00A0China's State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping. However, as per\u00A0a Reuters report\u00A0from last June, the government\u00A0has already confirmed receipt of an application from the Mountain View headquartered firm.\r\n\r\nGoogle is required to hold a number of licenses in order to legally provide services in China. While the company relocated its search engine to Hong Kong in 2010, it continues to hold a license that permits it to operate a number of Web-based services in the country. That license was last\u00A0granted in September, as the Wall Street Journal reported.\r\n\r\nReuters suggested that regulations around maps would be &amp;quot;relaxed&amp;quot; to allow more foreign providers into China, but\u00A0home-grown\u00A0Baidu is Google's biggest challenger in the space.\r\n\r\nBaidu's map service has added a number of significant improvements of late which have led\u00A0some\u00A0to suggest that it is a better offering that Google's. The Chinese firm, which leads\u00A0the nation's search market, recently\u00A0added satellite imagery and it already includes street view. It also boasts a feature\u00A0that allows viewers to look 'inside' buildings.\r\n\r\nWith Android reported to hold 58 percent of the country's smartphone market, as of November 2011, the continuation of Google Maps is crucial for the company. Earlier this month Google's Asia President confirmed that it is continuing to focus on the country\u00A0despite the censorship policies there, which executive chairman Eric Schmidt recently called &amp;quot;a truly bad set of laws&amp;quot;.\r\n\r\nUpdate: According to Penn Olson, Chinese media is reporting confirmation from authorities that Google applied for the license in November and is able to continue to offer its Google Maps service while the application is processed."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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