A L L R O A D S L E A D T O I N N O VAT I O N 265 Baidu, and in 2010, Google closed down its mainland operations and channeled its search traffic through Hong Kong. Like everyone else, Chinese companies face a piracy problem over the Internet, but again, Chinese companies have turned to innovative solutions to the problem. Convincing Chinese Users to Pay Online When it turned out that many Chinese were skeptical about using credit cards online, Chinese companies responded by distributing prepaid cards for use on the Internet for sale by local merchants. The prepaid cards can be bought by teenagers and used to partici- pate in online games. Mobile phone companies also set up systems for online bill payment with an easy-to-use single itemized bill at the end of the month. Alipay, an escrow facility, has provided a number of formulas for its 550 million registered users, who now engage in some 8.5 million online transactions a day. These tactics made it even harder for foreign companies to compete in the Chinese Internet market. To overcome the reluctance to pay for Internet content, Tencent in 2003 instituted its QQ show, a free virtual game in which cus- tomers participate via their online avatars. Each avatar gets access to 100 basic sets of clothing. To get more stylish clothing, players need to invest $1.50 a month to join the "Red Diamond Club," which gives them access to 50,000 outfits, hairstyles, and accessories. Several million people have signed up for the service so far. The market for virtual goods was developed even further in The Legend of Mir, an online multiplayer game produced by the Chinese company Shanda Interactive Entertainment. In the game, players can obtain virtual weapons and equipment either by scoring points through the game or buying them online. More than 40 dif- ferent swords featured in Kung Fu movies are available. Customers don't have to pay, but eventually, they want to. American Management Association / www.amanet.org