Taiwan last week welcomed Google's removal of "Taiwan, Province of China" from its global map service following protests by the Taiwan government and pro-independence groups, reports Deutsche Presse-Agentur. "We welcome the move by Google, which helps to end the controversy over the issue," Foreign Ministry spokesman Michel Lu said.

Google spokeswoman Debbie Frost was quoted by Taiwanese media as saying the change was part of a broader revision of what type of text users see when any Google map is viewed. She said the change applies not only to Taiwan but also to all other geographic areas.