The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has signed an E-commerce Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Baidu.com (BIDU) for the two sides to cooperate in many different fields, including online payments.

This is the first agreement of its kind that Baidu has reached on e-commerce in China. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) will issue virtual accounts and open special client support services to provide e-payment products for Baidu's users. This means that in the near future users can pay through ICBC's online payment platform for films and other services offered by Baidu.

Baidu.com's search engine indexes a variety of file types, including videos, music, and websites. Though it is currently locked in a legal battle with international music publishing companies, it does plan to soon try to monetize its multimedia search services. Baidu also earns revenue through the sale of online advertising placed on its website and on the webpages of its affiliates.

The cooperation will also help Baidu solve the problem of unsafe online payment by virtue of ICBC's secure e-banking platform.