china has blown internet usage figures out of the water in 2008, getting to first place for the number of both broadband and general Internet users. Not only that, China now has the highest number of top-level registered domains in the world.

The statistics are impressive as it appears that China may have overtaken the numbers provided by the US for so many years in just one clean stroke. In its latest report entitled, “22nd China Internet Development Report”, the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) disclosed that as of June 2008 there are 253 million Internet users in China with 214 million of them being broadband users. Both numbers are currently the largest in the world.

Another interesting item appearing in the report is the number of CN domain names registered, which at 12.188 million makes it the highest among top-level domain registrations in the world.

Changing demographics. In the not so distant past, it was reported that the average Internet user in China was young, highly educated and affluent, with lots of disposable income to spare. But with the increasing number of net users and the wider reach of broadband connections, the face of the average Internet user is changing.

The CNNIC report shows that while most of the net citizens are young, 39% of them are high school graduates. Thus, the websites that are popular in China are music, news, blogs/personal space, video, search engine, email, online games, and online shopping sites. News sites have become popular as a result of the major events in China such as the Wenchuan earthquake and the Beijing Olympics.

During the aftermath of the Wenchuan earthquake, for instance, government authorities issued an order calling for a few days of nationwide mourning. Websites were asked to adopt a black mourning theme and to suspend gaming and other fun-filled activities on the net. Most users accessed the Internet to view the latest news updates on the rescue efforts after the earthquake. This move is a clear indication of the massive reach and influence that the Internet already has in China.

In the more progressive chinese cities like Shanghai and Beijing, online shopping rates remain high on internet users list of regular online activities. Shanghai reportedly has the largest number of online shoppers. With the growing availability and acceptance of online payment systems, these numbers are predicted to grow in other cities.

To date, there are 23.In a 71% increase from the previous year, 7 million users of the online payment system.

In addition to the acceptance of online payment systems, an emerging trend that is about to change the statistics of China e-commerce soon will be the use of the mobile phone to access the Internet. This means a great deal to those in rural areas that suffer from ordinary PC access, and will lead to further growth in internet use in China.

While the actual figures representing Internet usage may already seem to be high, the Internet penetration rate is only 19.1%, which is still below the global average of 21%. This means that there is still room for growth in Internet usage as more users in rural areas may now connect to the net using mobile phones.

With encouraging numbers, increasing social acceptance and developing trends, China’s internet economy is certainly going in the right direction.