The former General Manager of Yahoo (YHOO) China, Zhou Hongyi, took Yahoo China to court on August 17 on a charge of "making public remarks to distort facts, insulting and libeling the claimant via various media".

The Beijing No. 2 People's Intermediate Court has accepted the case.

Zhou Hongyi currently acts as Chairman of qihoo.com, a search engine company competing with Yahoo China. He was also the founder of 3721.com, which was sold to Yahoo for US$120 million in November 2003.

Zhou says Yahoo China, which is now part of Alibaba.com, established a column on the homepage of its website, accusing Zhou of "intimidating and pressuring" staff into leaving Yahoo China.

There is now word yet when a decision will be reached in this case.