Baidu, China's dominant search engine, yesterday launched "Baidu TV," an online video advertising service, expecting it to be a new profit driver to help widen the gap with its rivals, Chinese versions of Google and Yahoo.

Baidu TV is the result of a partnership between Baidu and Ads it! Media Corporation, a Chinese online video advertising platform provider.

Baidu will provide advertisers access to about 160,000 domestic websites under the Baidu Union, where they can post online video ads.

Ads it! mainly deals in advertising-related technical and marketing issues.

"Baidu has been dedicated to developing its core business by maximizing its customer resources ... Baidu TV is a logical step in that direction," said Shen Haoyu, Baidu vice-president, business operations.

Baidu's revenue mainly relies on text ads, but this is "far from enough, and it should try to find more niche markets to fuel growth," said Tian Xin, search engine analyst with iResearch Consulting Group.

Baidu reported revenue of 401.3 million yuan for the second quarter ended June 30, a 109.4 percent increase year-on-year, and revenue per online marketing customer was 3,100 yuan during the April-June period.