Baidu Inc. unveiled a platform that lets users run applications through Baidu's website, a step that could help shape China's fledgling apps-store sector.

Users of the new service can run games, videos, electronic books and other applications on Baidu's site. The service, which opened for business Wednesday evening, offers software similar to that available through websites like Facebook or platforms like Apple Inc.'s App Store or the Android Market based on Google Inc.'s mobile operating system. But unlike those, Baidu's platform is accessible from any device or personal computer connected to the Web and it works with any Web browser, including Apple's Safari.

Software developers can get paid through user donations, advertisingrevenue shared with Baidu, or by charging users, with a 30% commission paid to Baidu.

The Box Computing Open Platform, as Baidu calls the service, represents one of Baidu's most ambitious undertakings since the company was created in 2000 and could help the Chinese company shake its image in some circles as a copycat. Baidu has been enormously successful at its core business, boasting a 70% share of Internet search revenue in China, and its share price has skyrocketed.

But critics say it has largely just adapted the ideas of Google and others to the Chinese market. Several other products Baidu has started -- such as a consumer-to-consumer e-commerce platform, Youa -- have failed to gain traction.

Baidu's new app service appears to have beaten some competitors to the punch. Google, which has the second largest share of China's Internet-search market despite having scaled back its operation in China this year, has said it plans to launch a browser-based app service called the Chrome Web Store, in an attempt to provide an app-search service for PC users similar to what is available on mobile devices. But that isn't scheduled to go live until later this year. Apple and Google declined to comment.

David Wolf, chief executive of Wolf Group Asia, a Beijing-based marketing-strategy firm, said the new service is 'quite clearly something that is new and unique and may be worth emulating in other markets.' Baidu is 'stepping out' and taking a chance with the product, he said.

Baidu Chief Executive Robin Li began pushing what he called 'box computing' last year, saying the company should develop technology around the concept that all computing tasks -- from Web search to starting other programs or even finding someone to date -- should available from a search box like the one on Baidu's home page.

Haoyu Shen, Baidu's senior vice president of business operations said the progress Baidu made in the past year in developing this platform 'shows the validity of this concept,' which initially 'didn't make sense to people.' He said, however, that it could take years for the service to generatesignificantrevenue for the company.

Developers had mixed reactions to the platform, which so far has about 400 apps. Most of them are games, such as 'Plants vs. Zombies' by Seattle-based PopCap Games Inc. Some e-books are available, and other partners include video services and a streaming radio station. Apple says its store offers more than 250,000 apps. Google says its Market offers 70,000 apps.

Though the market for games, online video and other applications is huge in China, people download the programs through a number of small independent app stores or buy them from electronics sellers. Pirated games are common. For mobile applications, Apple's App Store doesn't have a Chinese-language interface, while Google's Market isn't packaged with many Android phones available in China.

The new platform 'sounds very appealing' for third-party application developers, said Frank Yu, chief product officer at Kwestr, a Shanghai-based social-media-software start-up. A 30% commission 'seems to be generous by China standards,' he said. Other online games platforms in China, such as Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s social-networking site, have lots of users but demand an average of 40% to 50% of revenuegenerated from the games, developers said.

Developers said it was unclear, however, whether the Baidu platform will generaterevenue in a market plagued with software piracy or whether users will find such a service useful.

Bill Bishop, a Beijing-based online-game investor in China, said the Baidu service could help smaller developers gain awareness but could provide few benefits for makers of more popular games.

'At the end of the day, when people are searching, they know the name of the game. If you already know the game, do you need to play it on Baidu?' he said.

The Box Computing Open Platform already has run into a copyrightchallenge. James Gwertzman, Asia-Pacific vice president for PopCap, said 'Plants vs. Zombies' first appeared on Baidu's platform without the PopCap's permission. 'We found out through some press articles [that] the game was up there, but not officially our game,' Mr. Gwertzman said. PopCap contacted Baidu, which took down the game. PopCap then agreed to provide an official trial version of the game with a link to PopCap's website, in hopes of generating traffic.

'Overall this is a positive thing,' Mr. Gwertzman said. 'We happily support any model that allows us to put our games in front of more users. . . . We expect to work with them further.'

A Baidu spokesman said the unauthorized version of 'Plants vs. Zombies' was mistakenly provided by a partner that has licenses to other PopCap titles. He said Baidu would address the issue by trying to work directly with rights holders.

Loretta Chao

• platform [´plætfɔ:m] n.(平)台；讲台；站台 (初中英语单词)
• wednesday [´wenzdi] n.星期三 (初中英语单词)
• available [ə´veiləbəl] a.可用的；有效的 (初中英语单词)
• system [´sistəm] n.系统，体系，制度 (初中英语单词)
• unlike [,ʌn´laik] a.不同的 prep.不象... (初中英语单词)
• device [di´vais] n.装置；器具；策略 (初中英语单词)
• computer [kəm´pju:tə] n.计算机；电子计算器 (初中英语单词)
• advertising [´ædvətaiziŋ] n.广告a.广告的 (初中英语单词)
• ambitious [æm´biʃəs] a.有雄心的；热望的 (初中英语单词)
• beaten [´bi:tn] beat 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
• despite [di´spait] prep.尽管 (初中英语单词)
• executive [ig´zekjutiv] a.行政的 n.行政官 (初中英语单词)
• concept [´kɔnsept] n.概念；观念；思想 (初中英语单词)
• application [,æpli´keiʃən] n.申请；申请书；应用 (初中英语单词)
• generous [´dʒenərəs] a.慷慨的；丰盛的 (初中英语单词)
• bishop [´biʃəp] n.主教 (初中英语单词)
• challenge [´tʃælindʒ] n.&vt.向....挑战；怀疑 (初中英语单词)
• permission [pə´miʃən] n.允许；同意；许可 (初中英语单词)
• partner [´pɑ:tnə] n.伙伴 v.同....合作 (初中英语单词)
• revenue [´revinju:] n.税收；收入 (高中英语单词)
• commission [kə´miʃən] n.委任(状) vt.委任 (高中英语单词)
• launch [lɔ:ntʃ] vt.发动 n.发射；汽艇 (高中英语单词)
• unique [ju:´ni:k] a.唯一的 n.独一无二 (高中英语单词)
• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
• finding [´faindiŋ] n.发现物；判断；结果 (高中英语单词)
• senior [´si:niə] a.年长的 n.前辈 (高中英语单词)
• significant [sig´nifikənt] a.重要的；意义重大的 (高中英语单词)
• positive [´pɔzətiv] a.确定的 (高中英语单词)
• accessible [ək´sesəbəl] a.易接近的；可到达的 (英语四级单词)
• enormously [i´nɔ:məsli] ad.巨大的，庞大的 (英语四级单词)
• generate [´dʒenəreit] vt.创造；发生；引起 (英语四级单词)
• copyright [´kɔpirait] n.版权；著作权 (英语四级单词)
• officially [ə´fiʃəli] ad.以职员身份；正式 (英语四级单词)
• version [´və:ʃən, ´və:rʒən] n.翻译；说明；译本 (英语四级单词)
• mistakenly [mis´teikənli] ad.错误地 (英语四级单词)
• trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
• taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
• investor [in´vestə] n.投资者 (英语六级单词)
• spokesman [´spəuksmən] n.发言人 (英语六级单词)