China shuts down Gougou.com Internet search engine

Gougou.com, run by Chinese web firm Xunlei, which had previously planned to float on one of the US stock exchanges was shut down, BBC reported Thursday.

Analysts say that its closure could be an attempt to make a fresh bid to float again. The closure followed weeks after the search engine was added to the US Trade Representative's report on major copyright offenders.

"Gougou.com has been closed down. Thank you all for your support, and we are sorry for any inconvenience," according to an announcement on the web site.

Last month China said it beefed up the law to prevent the malicious registration of trademarks China and cracked down on intellectual property rights (IPR) violations convicting nearly 30,000 cases since 2008 to address the concern of top foreign brands.

Chen Sixi, a member of the NPC Standing Committee, noted that the precedents on setting special maritime courts and military courts are successful and the experience may work for IPR issues.