The number was 79.5 million at the end of last year.
The web-savvy population of China outstripped that of Japan by
the end of 2002, making it the second largest in the world after
the United States.
Still, the current number represents just 6.6 percent of the
country's total population, leaving more than ample room for
growth.
The report shows?that 36.3 million computers are connected
to the Internet, a rise of 17.5 percent from half a year ago. There
are almost 626,000 websites, up 32.2 percent.
But an east-west digital divide remains, as about 90 percent of
the websites are based in the more developed coastal provinces.
Beijing, south China's Guangdong
Province and east China's Zhejiang
Province and Shanghai are the top four for the number of
website enterprises, accounting for 56.8 percent of the total.
The report also said government staffers still prefer to work in
the real world despite mounting calls for e-government services.
Most services are delivered face-to-face or on paper, despite the
mushrooming number of government websites in recent years.
Only 5.2 percent of China's government sites are frequently
used. Nearly half of the 11,764 sites are simply one-way
information sites and more interactivity is badly needed.
CNNIC's survey of Internet user preferences indicated that most
people use the web to obtain information, including news, e-books
and useful information for daily life.
Interestingly, using the Internet for leisure ranks second,
higher than study, meeting friends, research or e-mail.
There is still ample room for growth in Internet information and
broadband services.
Average users send more than 10 pieces of information by the
Internet each week and a majority -- about 58 percent -- spends
less than 10 yuan (US$1.20) each month.
Not surprisingly, younger people make up the largest group of
customers. People aged 18 to 24 account for 32.8 percent of users.
Those in the 25-to-30 age bracket make up 29.1 percent and those
aged 31 to 35 account for 15.8 percent, while those above age of 35
make up 16.6 percent.
Most broadband users are male technicians, staff in companies or
administrative departments, or employees in tertiary industries and
the commercial sector. Around 30 percent have high school or
college education.
Many dial-up Internet users are expected to switch to broadband
in the future.
Those who have so far stayed offline list such reasons as a busy
work schedule, little knowledge of the Internet, the inconvenience
of logging on and a lack of safety connected to e-mail
messages.
Other reasons include the belief that Internet use is too
complicated, being unaccustomed to relying on the Internet, fear
that web information is false and concerns about computer
viruses.
(China Daily July 21, 2004)