Google Apparently "99.9 Percent" Certain to Shut Down in China

The Financial Times and Bloomberg are reporting that negotiations between Google and the Chinese government over censorship have reached an apparent impasse and that Google is now “99.9 percent” certain that it will shut down Google.cn. The final decision has not yet been made, nor has the timetable for ceasing operations been announced, but detailed plans for the shutdown apparently have been prepared. An exit from China's Internet market would cost Google an estimated $600 million in revenue. [JH]