China has become the world's biggest online populace.
There are now some 253 million people online in China, vs. 223 million in the U.S. And the latest figures for China reflect a 56% increase from a year ago, according to the state-run China Internet Network Information Center.
The growth is staggering, especially given China's rigid control of web access by its population. While the Communist Party approves of the Internet's commercial and educational aspects, it keeps a tight lid on the free exchange of ideas. Some webizens have been jailed for expressing their opinion online, and last week China decided to continue blocking some sites during the Olympics, despite earlier promises of complete access.
And penetration in the country remains low: The share of the Chinese public using the Internet is still just 19%, compared to 70% in the U.S. Americans remain the world's most effective and lucrative users of the 'Net.
But it's the huge potential of the Chinese market that has Western firms like Google and Yahoo chomping at the bit to get into the country. By some projections, China will have nearly 500 million Internet users by 2012 -- more users than there are Americans in total.
The most popular applications in China are online music, news and instant messaging. The natural disasters that hit China this year were a key driver of Internet growth, as readers of online news rose to 206 million in the first half of this year, vs. 155 million in the second half of 2007.
Young people below the age of 30 make up 69% of total Internet users, the report found. And, significantly, 29% of all users accessed the Web via their cell phones, mirroring the country's explosive growth in mobile phone subs -- some 601 million.
The commercial boom has produced success stories such as game site Tencent.com and search engine Baidu.com, which are competing with foreign rivals for local market share. Video sharing site Tudou.com has partnered in with California-based Sonic Solutions to offer a customized version of Roxio Buzz, a video editing program that allows users to upload video clips to websites easily.
The advent of third-generation, or 3G, technology is only likely to further boost the market.
© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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