Fellow blogger, Rex Dixon reports that Google will partner with Shanghai-based venture capital firm Ceyuan Ventures to invest in Chinese download accelerator and peer-to-peer file sharing network operator Thunder Network Technology Ltd. A spokesperson for Shenzhen-based Thunder (also known by its Chinese name, Xunlei reveals the company will close its third round of investment in two weeks. Efforts to contact Google's office were unsuccessful. Thunder Network's previous rounds of funding were for US$1 million and US$10 million from from IDG and Morningside Technologies, respectively.

According to various China online sources, Thunder's peer-to-peer file sharing software has been downloaded 80 million times and the site has over 100 million users.

The Chinese website to its credit has also reached earlier strategic agreements with companies like Motorola, Sina Corp. and Shanda Corporation.

For Google, this investment signals a stronger desire to gain market share in the Middle Kingdom. Industry sources claim that both Baidu and Google have only 16 percent of the online search market. This investment comes on the heels of Google's $1.65 billion acquistion of the hot online video-sharing site You Tube.

The good news for all China watchers is that there are now more than 123 million Internet users and are poised to pass the U.S. over the next two years.