CNNIC published the "16th Statistical Survey Report on the Internet Development in China"

July 21, 2005

'According to the 16th statistical survey report on the Internet development in China released in July by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), the total number of internet users in China has reached 103 million, indicating that China is now home to the second largest population of Internet users of any country on the planet, second only to the US. It was reported that 9 million Chinese became netizens in the first half of this year, an increase of 18.4 per cent over the same period last year.

The report also showed that by June 30, China had 45.6 million computers hooked up to the net, compared to 41.6 million the previous year. In addition, more people in China are surfing the internet by broadband rather than dial-up connections.

Besides, the report included survey results of several popular issues on the Internet in China. The survey suggested great potential for growth in online commerce, as nearly 20 percent had shopped online at least once. Online games players spent a total of 4 billion yuan (US$493 million) in the six-month period on virtual items used in games such as equipment, arms and identities. The survey also found an increasing number of people using the internet to search for maps and locations, but most use search engines to look for websites, software and mp3s. As for the most common concerns, aside from viruses, internet surfers said they are most annoyed by pop-up ads and windows. Others expressed worries about fraud, spam and false information.