Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

China's online population rises to 450 million

  • 30-12-2010 12:35pm
    #1
    bealtine
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,051 ✭✭✭


    http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/1230/internet-business.html

    China said the number of Internet users in what is already the world's largest online market had jumped to 450 million.

    China said today the number of Internet users in what is already the world's largest online market had jumped to 450 million - more than a third of the country's 1.3-billion-strong population.

    'By the end of November, the number of netizens had reached 450 million, a rise of 20.3% compared to the same period last year,' Wang Chen, minister for the press office of the State Council, China's cabinet, said.

    The figure marks an increase of 30 million - more than the population of Peru - since the number of web users was last given in July.

    'The coverage rate of the Internet in China is 33.9% - above the world average of 30%,' Wang said. 'These figures show the environment for the development of the Internet in China is sound,' he added.

    China's spiralling online population has turned the Internet into a forum for citizens to express their opinions in a way rarely seen in a country where the traditional media is under strict government control.

    The Internet has also become a lucrative marketplace. The value of online payments is expected to hit one trillion yuan ($151 billion) for the year, Beijing-based research company Analysys International has predicted.

    The growing strength and influence of the web population has prompted concern in Beijing about the Internet's potential as a tool for generating social unrest, and authorities have stepped up surveillance in recent years.

    The government blocks web content that it deems politically sensitive in a vast system dubbed the 'Great Firewall of China'.


Advertisement