Google's brand awareness among Chinese users has soared since the company announced last week that it may pull out of the country, according to a domestic research firm.

That may provide fresh fodder for those who believe the threat of Google's possible retreat from China is a market tactic to shore up its No 2 position in the country's search-engine market.

Edward Yu, president of domestic research firm Analysys International, told China Daily yesterday that his company has sensed a significant growth of search inquiries for Google.

"The search inquiries for Google have seen a great rise during the past few days in China and a large number of them came from third- and fourth-tier cities, where previously few people know about the company," said Yu.

He said searches from outside big cities have risen "many times" compared with a week ago, but said he needed more time to review the figures.

The world's largest search engine said last Wednesday that the company had detected a "highly sophisticated and targeted attack from China" that resulted in the theft of the company's intellectual property.

The company said it will no longer continue censoring results on Google.cn, the Chinese-language website it launched in 2006. It also said it is in discussions with the government and is prepared to shut down its Chinese offices.

Google yesterday also said it postponed the planned launch of its mobile phone in China, AP reported.

Spokeswoman Marsha Wang said a launch ceremony planned for today was canceled but declined to give a reason for the decision or to say when the launch might be rescheduled.