Head of Google in China steps down

Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, the head of Google (GOOG) in China, said he is leaving to start a venture firm. A marketing executive at the search engine's operation in the world's most populous country will take over for an interim period.

Lee is popular among the tech community in China, but he may be departing because, by several critical measurements, Google is a failure on the mainland. According to the Financial Times, "The company's market share dropped back to below 30 per cent in the second quarter, less than half that of Baidu, according to Analysys, a local internet and media research house." Lee has been with Google since 2005 and the firm has made very little progress against its rival.