Baidu releases new mobile browser

Baidu Inc., which operates China’s most popular search engine, has released a new mobile browser and says it will invest in a cloud computing center as growth in Internet use shifts to mobile phones.

Baidu has about 80 percent of China’s Internet search market but has been slower than some competitors such as Tencent and UCWeb to expand in mobile Web access.

China has the world’s most populous Internet market, with 538 million people online as of the end of July. The number of people who go online through mobile phones and other wireless devices rose 22 percent to 388 million, double the overall growth rate for Internet use.

Baidu also said it will create a cloud computing center to support its mobile Internet initiative.