The BBC, referring to an FT article (subscription), reports that Baidu has launched (proxy link) it's own user-generated encyclopedia, filling the gap that has existed since the Chinese authorities decided that Wikipedia was a swamp of dangerously controversial agitprop and punted it outside the great firewall:
The new service from Baidu.com, Baidupedia, is heavily self-censored to avoid offending the Chinese government.

Wikipedia had become increasingly popular in China until blocked in 2005.

China has strict laws on internet use and blocks content it deems a threat, including references to the Tiananmen Square massacre and notable dissidents.

Complex market
The new Chinese service was launched last month.

Baidu's chief said the "initial reaction has been very positive", in an interview with the UK's Financial Times newspaper.

Robin Li told the paper his encyclopedia was modelled on Wikipedia, but said he was unaware Beijing had banned the Florida-based reference website.
Well, yes, possibly. It seems hard to believe that China's current Internet poster-boy, the man who has put the wind up Google in China, could take inspiration from Wikipedia without noticing that it has been blocked in China for the past few months. But it's technically possible, I suppose.

Referring to the censorship guidelines applied, the FT reports:
Baidu has barred users from including any "malicious evaluation of the current national system", any "attack on government institutions" or even "promotion of a dispirited or negative view of life".
This would be entirely in keeping with the standard Chinese government approach of setting vague guidelines, giving you a hard stare, and then letting you censor yourself far more effectively than they ever could. It also ensures that essentially any material deemed objectionable for any reason whatsoever can be deemed to transgress against at least some aspect of the content restrictions.

Nevertheless, Baidupedia (or 百科, which is both shorthand for the Chinese word for encyclopedia, 百科全书, and agreeably close to 百度) now claims almost 110,000 entries, putting it substantially ahead of Wikipedia's 67,000 Chinese entries (proxy link), which are in traditional characters.

Anyway, a quick'n'shallow search for the old "Tian'anmen Square" litmus topic reveals articles on the the banalities of the square's construction, history, and dimensions (this one in particular is worth a read if you want to be overcome by revolutionary spirit); the Monument to the People's Heroes; modern Chinese architecture; Beijing's Xicheng and Dongcheng districts; the PLA Type 99 tank; China's national day, etc.

Seems ready for mass consumption.

In fact, the expected paucity of controversial topics aside, I am all for China having its own wiki-style encyclopedia, although it's a shame they can't now contribute to the original Wikipedia. In fact, as a regular user of the actual Wikipedia, I can report that somewhat tighter editing and management hand might serve it well also, although I'd stop short of the political controls.

Update: Further to the comment below, an "explanation" from Baidu, as reported in Xinhua's story:
Critics have accused Baidu Baike of lifting contents from Wikipedia, but [Baidu product marketing director] Bian [Jiang] said that "the sharing of information is instrumental in the development and the continuity of knowledge."

The act of sifting out relevant information and editing is in itself a process of information packaging, he pointed out.

"Baidu Baike has a rigorous copyright system to protect the rights of the original contributor and editor of an entry," he said.

Yes, the sharing of information is, de facto, instrumental in the development and continuity of knowledge. But usually the small matter of attribution is also considered important. If they're unclear on the concept, perhaps they can look it up in an encyclopedia.