A dispute involving Qihoo 360, one of China's largest technology giants, and Baidu Inc, the country's largest search engine, was opened to the public at a Beijing court on Friday.

Qihoo 360 sued Baidu for unfair competition at the Beijing Haidian District People's Court, saying Baidu promotes its own anti-virus programs when computer users search for related software from Qihoo 360.

If a computer user searches for anti-virus programs designed by Qihoo 360 using the Baidu search engine, he or she is only offered similar programs designed by Baidu, according to a statement by the plaintiff.

Baidu promotes its software by banning programs designed by other companies on its search engine, which damages the market order and results in unfair competition, the legal representative of Qihoo 360 said.

"We want Baidu to stop this infringement and pay compensation," the representative added.

The trial is continuing.

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