China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) released on Wednesday some interesting statistics on its fast-growing internet population. According to the report, the number of Chinese internet users hit 162 million at the end of June, and at the current growth rate, the South Asian country is on track to over-take the US' 211 million internet users in about a year.
"China's Internet market is just emerging and there are still a lot of things to be done before a mature online business environment can be established," Wang Enhai, an official with CNNIC, said.
The number of Chinese Internet users increased a massive 31.7 percent since June 2006, said CNNIC. About 75 percent said to use search engines to find information, while more than 60 percent use the internet as a source of entertainment. Other interesting findings reveal that wireless internet access is widely used in China, with 44.3 million people accessing the internet from their mobile phones.
For the purposes of the report, the CNNIC defined an "internet user" as someone who accessed the Internet at least once during the previous six months.