[Update, 12:20 p.m. Google has begun redirecting search traffic from Google.cn to its Hong Kong site, making uncensored search results available there to users in China. The question now is whether the government in China will block access to that site.]

Maybe Google could solve this whole China thing by offering the entire country free high-speed broadband access? OK, maybe not, but it's hard to miss the contrast between the search giant's situation in the U.S. -- where politicians are falling all over themselves to get the company's attention -- and its predicament in China, where government officials are sounding like they'd be just as happy to see Google go away.

The showdown in China could come to a head this week, with the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times reporting that the company will announce its next steps in the country -- including the possible closure of its search engine there -- as early as today. Google said in January that it would stop censoring its search results in China, in defiance of government restrictions, after it uncovered a cyberattack believed to have originated in the country. The company reportedly hasn't been able to reach a compromise agreement, and China's state-run media are making the government's position clear.

"Maybe Google is preparing to retreat, and maybe it is still hesitating. But one thing is clear: China won't let its regulations or laws bend to any companies' threats," read one China Daily commentary over the weekend. "It is ridiculous and arrogant for an American company to attempt to change China's laws. The country doesn't need a politicized Google or Google's politics."

Microsoft has made it clear that it doesn't plan to follow Google's lead, with executive Craig Mundie reiterating the company's position in an interview with China Daily last week. Microsoft will still face a tough competitor in Baidu, the native search engine that leads the market in China. The situation may improve Microsoft's chances in China, but it also opens Redmond company to criticism at home.

"The showdown is long overdue. Google has debated and agonized what to do for months," wrote the San Francisco Chronicle in a weekend editorial supporting Google's stance. "If it leaves, its less-conflicted rivals - hello, Microsoft - will gladly accept censorship for a chunk of the world's biggest Internet market, an audience estimated at 300 million and counting. Any leverage for change that Google enjoyed through its reputation as a tech innovator and social force will vanish on its exit."

The Wall Street Journal reports that Google attempt to keep some parts of its business in China, such as its Android phones, even if it closes its Google.cn search portal in the country. The Financial Times says the company's employees in the country have largely been ignoring recruiting efforts by Microsoft and others, holding out hope that they'll be able to continue working for Google.

By the way, the deadline for municipalities to submit applications for the Google Fiber project is this Friday, March 26. But even if the project were expanded beyond the U.S., it's a safe bet we wouldn't see China's president, Hu Jintao, jumping in any lakes -- as much as Google might want to tell him to.