CNNIC: China Has 20 Million Netizens
[January 10] The number of Chinese who are surfing the Net continues its high-speed growth. When compared with a year ago, more than double the number of people are "getting wet."
According to research statistics gathered by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), the number of Chinese Internet users, at the end of 2000, had broken the 20 million mark, according to the Jan. 6 Beijing Wanbao (Beijing Evening News).
At the end of 1999, this number was only 8.9 million. It then increased to 16.9 million, according to CNNIC's July 2000 report. However, a second Internet authority, International Data Corp., has estimated that the number of Internet users would not exceed 9 million by the end of 2000.
Notably, according to the CNNIC, the percentage of Beijing families using the Internet has risen significantly. Almost half the homes, 45.4 percent, that have telephones and computers are also connecting to the Internet. Families that had started surfing the Internet within the past two years make up 75 percent of the total number, the article said.
A CNNIC official confirmed on Jan. 6 that the biannual comprehensive investigative survey on the state of the Internet in China is fully under way. He said that the official results will be made public in mid-January.
The official said that according to the survey, more than 8 million computers in China were connected to the Internet and there were more than 30,000 Web sites at the end of 2000. These numbers are approximately double the counts from 1999, when there were only 3.5 million computers and 15,000 Web sites, the article said.
asia.internet.com |
