Groupon launches Gaopeng.com coupon site in China

With a population of more than 1.3 billion people, getting your app launched inside China's borders could be a very good thing for business. That's what Groupon thinks, too, and its new China spin-off Gaopeng.com aims to bring local deals to connected Chinese users.

Estimates peg the number of Internet users in China at around half a billion. Groupon will be fighting for market share with other group buying services, and it has apparently partenered with Tencent -- which develops China's most popular instant messaging app QQ -- to get Gaopeng off and running.

Competitors aren't totally thrilled with Groupon's arrival, and not just because there's another deal site in China. Groupon has been accused of poaching staff -- and competitors have firmly stated that employees who leave for Grouon will not be welcomed back.

Tags: apps, buying, china, chinese, deals, gaopeng, gaopeng.com, group buying, GroupBuying, groupon, web