China's net users rise to 384 million at end 09
16 Jan 2010
According to a government-linked industry body, the number of internet users in China has risen to 384 million by end of 2009. China already had the largest number of internet users in the world.
The China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) said on Friday, the online population of the world's most populous nation rose 28.9 per cent last year from end- 2008.
The survey, based on a count of residents who said they used the internet in the past six months, found 29 per cent of China's 1.3 billion people are now net users.
The number of users accessing the internet from mobile phones increased by 120 million last year to 233 million on fast expansion of the country's third-generation (3G) network, allowing high-speed transmission of images and video, it said.
The numbers establish China's position as the world's largest online community, exceed the size of the entire population of the US.
"Although the rate of (Internet) participation continues to rise, compared to developed countries, China's rate of internet participation remains quite low," said the report.