The number of internet users in China has reached 103 million, second only to the US, according to a survey released yesterday by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).

About 9 million Chinese were new online in the first half of 2005, an increase of 18.4 percent on the same period last year, the survey said.

Whilst the numbers are huge, the proportion of people in China with no internet access is still large: 92.1 percent of the population, compared to 33 percent in the US.

The survey also suggested great potential for growth in online commerce, as nearly 20 percent had shopped online at least once.

Online trade volume in the first half of the year is estimated at 10 billion yuan (US$1.23 billion), with nearly half of that amount paid online, Wang Enhai, vice director of CNNIC's Information Service Department, said yesterday.

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 amazing development in China's web industry should surely draw attention from foreign investors," analyst Lu Weigang said yesterday, adding that most internet users in China are well educated and have hefty purchasing power.

The report also said 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.

"Listening to music and watching movies online is becoming more popular," Wang said, adding that email, news, and search engines still top the list of most frequently used services.

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.

The CNNIC is a state-funded non-profit organization run jointly by the Ministry of Information Industry and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

(China Daily July 22, 2005)