The company's system for tracking Internet access may have misinterpreted what was happening to its search, mobile and advertising services in China, according to a Google statement issued late Thursday.

That probably caused a minor blockage to be exaggerated in a status report updated each day on Google's website.

The initial alert about Google's search engine being completely cut off from China raised questions about whether the country's communist government was retaliating against the company for taking a stand against its online censorship policies.