Beijing - Yahoo China has been ordered by a court in Beijing to pay the major record labels about $27,200 in damages, having lost a case where the company was accused of linking to free music download sites, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

The record labels had originally sought $700,000 in damages and a published apology from the company.

Yahoo China -- a joint venture with online auction site Alibaba.com -- said it plans to appeal the ruling, arguing that it should not be held responsible for content linked to on third-party sites.

Baidu, the largest search site in China, faced similar charges of providing links to illegal music downloads in 2005, but won the case late last year; the record labels have appealed that ruling. "

If any mistake has been made, Baidu made the same one," Yahoo China publicity director Xu Yang told Xinhua. "The crux of the argument in the two cases are similar."

Related Links:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-04/24/content_6021999.htm

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070424/china_yahoo_music_piracy.html (AP)

http://cn.yahoo.com