China's virtual landscape

Baidu (BIDU) is the company that informs China. The country's leading search engine offers a one-stop shop for news, celebrity gossip, location-based maps and streaming music.

Baidu.com is the fifth most popular site anywhere on the Internet, according to ranking site Alexa.

Similar to Google, Baidu makes much of its money from targeted online advertising. Revenue surged 42% in the third quarter. Since listing in New York eight years ago, Baidu shares have rocketed 1,200% to value the company at $56 billion.

The company was founded in 2000 by Robin Li, who has amassed an $11 billion fortune on his way to becoming China's third-richest person. The Baidu empire could be poised for even more growth, having recently acquired popular mobile apps and games company 91 Wireless for $1.9 billion.

NEXT: Alibaba