Google Inc will continue to offer support to firms using its Android system that are involved in legal disputes, its executive chairman Eric Schmidt said on Wednesday, as the Internet giant looks to cement alliances in the face of toughening competition.

The chairman who was in Taiwan this weekend also made peace with China by stating that he company wanted to serve China’s citizens within the limits the government allowed. This comes after Google fell out over hacking and censorship disputes earlier this year.

The support takes the form of information sharing, industry expertise and access to Google’s patents for licensing and legal purposes, Schmidt said. Samsung Electronics Co, the world’s biggest maker of mobile devices using Android, and Taiwanese Smartphone maker HTC Corp, are both involved in patent disputes with Apple Inc. Some analysts see the disputes as Apple’s way of attacking the Android system.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was quoted as saying in his authorized biography that he wanted to destroy Android, which has become the most popular Smartphone platform.

The reason behind the visit to Taiwan is to encourage the mobile distributors to use Android system at a time when they at this time are preparing to using the Microsoft Platform as they do not want to be over-dependent on Google.

Google offers support to Android firms in lawsuits

News report by Adhir Roy Chowdury