Mountain View (ip-192.com): Internet users in China experience new disruptions when they try to use Google’s search engine. Queries are dropped even for innocent searches that have not been censored before. Several media reports indicate that almost all searches on Google initiated by users in mainland China seem to be blocked now. Google confirmed that some features available on its mobile phones are blocked as well.

Google announced earlier this month that it would stop censoring its search results originating from China. It started to redirect users from its mainland China search engine to Hong Kong (ip-192.com reported here). While part of China, the former British Colony enjoys freedoms unknown in the rest of the country, including unfiltered Internet access.

China routinely blocks access to content it deems sensitive, and Google said that its online service fluctuates regularly. Google’s YouTube and Blogging sites have been blocked for weeks. The Mountain View, California based company said in January that it would re-evaluate its business in China after hackers penetrated its computer network and targeted e-mail accounts of human rights activists.

It was not immediately clear if the disruptions were a result of Chinese intervention or due to technical issues. A Google status-website reported that its search service in China has "no issues."

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