A number of internet users in China are reporting problems using the international version of Google’s site, which has prompted speculation that the site is being disrupted by government censors.Many of Google’s China users have only been able to access the site intermitently over the past few days.

A spokesperson for Google said “We have heard reports of users in China experiencing problems in accessing Google.com. We are investigating this matter.”

China rarely lets people know when they are censoring sites, so an official confirmation of the censorship is not likely. However, the problems that users are experience are very similar to those of other censored sites.

In 2002, Google.com was blocked entirely within China. It was only reinstated after worldwide protests. Now, many believe that China is attacking the international site after Google set up a censored China-based version of the site.

The recent problems with Google.com are the worst in years, prompting speculation that the introduction of Google.cn has emboldened the government to take action against Google.com.

“It was only to be expected that Google.com would be gradually sidelined after the censored version was launched in January,” says Reporters Without Borders, a media freedom watchdog.

According to Google’s estimations, 99% of users within China use the international version of the site. A paltry 1% use the Google.cn site.

In other news, Google is also reportedly in talks with China Mobile to collaborate on mobile search in China.

Google is expected to unveil its long-anticipated online payments system later this month on June 28, according to an analysts report.The service, dubbed “GBuy”, will process payments between shoppers and merchants. Eventually, it might also expanded to include consumer to consumer payments.

“GBuy has the potential to be as important to Google as Google Maps, or Google News, and there is very little that competitors can do to thwart its success,” says Jordan Rohan, RBC Analyst.

The product will launch in “beta” phase, and during this period Google will not charge merchants service fees. Further down the line, Google will most likely institute a 1.5% to 2% fee for transactions, which is similar to or slightly less than what rival Paypal charges.

On search result pages, Google will designate each merchant that accepts GBuy as a “Trusted GBuy Merchant”.

Google will benefit from the service not only monetarily, but also by their access to new information. The payments system captures all transaction data flow, allowing Google to see which categories and keywords produce the most hits and sales.

Analysts predict that GBuy could be “revolutionary”, driving more precise targeting in future searching. And although GBuy looks to be in direct competition with Paypal, Rohan believes that in the short term GBuy is more negative for eBay than it is positive for Google. Longer-term, it could be a game-changer.”

From today’s Google Press Release:

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) today announced a series of updates to the company’s mapping product suite, further illustrating Google’s commitment to creating powerful tools for sharing geographic information. Announced live at Google’s first Geo Developer Day, these innovations both connect users to information about the world around them, as well as address the growing needs of the developer community.

“We are excited to celebrate the one year anniversary of Google Earth and the Google Maps API with new technologies for these products,” said John Hanke, director, Google Earth and Maps. “In the past year, we have had more than 100 million unique Google Earth downloads and have enabled over 30,000 websites to create mash-ups combining their own geographic data with the Google Maps API. The enthusiasm of the geo-developer community encourages us that these geo-based tools are connecting users to information in new and innovative ways.”

Google Earth news announced today includes:

– Satellite imagery update: A significant high-resolution imagery update for Google Earth increases the product’s index of high-resolution imagery by four times. This makes sub-meter high-resolution imagery available for more than one third of the world’s population. While initially available only in Google Earth, this database will also be accessible in Google Maps shortly.

– New version of Google Earth: In the product’s first major update since its launch one year ago, Google Earth now features a more streamlined user interface and new tools that enable the creation and display of third party and user generated content. The addition of textured buildings brings a new level of realism and detail to Google Earth’s 3D world. Google Earth is also now available for the Windows, Mac and, for the first time, Linux operating platforms; and is fully localized in French, Italian, German and Spanish.

– Google SketchUp with textured buildings: In coordination with the release of Google Earth, Google SketchUp now enables the creation of textured buildings for visualization in Google Earth and the Google 3D Warehouse.

Google also announced several updates to Google Maps and the Google Maps API (Application Programming Interface), the developer tool that enables users to easily embed Google’s interactive, dynamic maps into their own websites. These innovations include:

– Google Maps API: In response to developer feedback, an update to the Google Maps API enables developers of Google Maps-powered mash-ups, or websites that merge geographic information with Google Maps, to integrate data based on addresses. This ability to geocode addresses using the Google Maps API is the most requested feature from Maps API users.

– KML for Google Maps: A new feature of Google Maps enables the display of KML (Keyhole Markup Language, the file format used by Google Earth and other applications to share geographic information) on Google Maps. This innovation enables data created in Google Earth to be viewed in a web browser as a simple mash-up. Requiring no computer programming expertise, KML for Google Maps makes the sharing of geographic information even easier.

– Google Maps for Enterprise: Addressing the needs of the enterprise community, Google announced fee-based licensing and support for businesses wanting to embed a Google Maps experience in websites or internal applications. Leveraging the Google Maps API, this product enables businesses to map customer locations, track shipments, manage facilities or view any other data source in a geographic context.

Google Earth is available at http://earth.google.com/. The Google Maps API is available at http://www.google.com/apis/maps/.

About Google Inc.

Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

Google is a registered trademark of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

SOURCE: Google Inc.