An article in Asia Times Online covers Google’s entry into the Indian marketplace, both as a moneymaking enterprise and as an employer. It quotes Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, Google’s vice president for Asia-Pacific and Latin America operations, thus:
“The market in India is changing rapidly,” she told the media. “More people are coming online as the infrastructure for growth expands quickly. We are making certain changes in Google Earth so that the safety and other concerns of various governments could be addressed.”
Is that a misquote, or is she signalling a further shift in the extent to which Google will hobble content in return for access to markets? What other possible interpretation is there?
It’s not a surprise. If they do so, they will just comply to local pressure, like in China. But, I don’t think the Google Earth resolution concern in India could really threaten Google cherished accessed to the market. At least they don’t clearly draw the limit between being compliant and being convenient.
By sadly doing so, they once again, follow the path of Microsoft. They have released a beta version of Virtual India ( a Virtual Earth remix…) with poor resolution (http://www.lastingnews.com/?p=95).