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Still, Google's move threatened to add to a growing list of disputes between the U.S. and China. Tensions have run high over the nation's trade imbalance and China's currency, as well as the push for a global climate-change agreement. This week, China tested a missile-defense system in a move widely viewed by Washington as a response to an expected U.S. weapons sale to Taiwan.

Google's move also put pressure on large multinationals, at a time when many are feeling their own tensions in China. Google said its internal investigation showed at least 20 other companies were affected. People familiar with the attack say at least 34 companies in the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors were hit by the cyber attacks. Only Adobe Systems Inc. has publicly verified an incident so far. Another company, Rackspace Hosting Inc., says it was victimized as part of the attack on Google.

Google and other U.S. search providers, for instance, have agreed to filter search results on Chinese sites at the behest of the government, a stance that has drawn heated criticism from human-rights activists.