China Net Use May Soon Surpass US

China could soon overtake the US to have the world’s largest number of internet users, according to a state-controlled think-tank. "We believe it will take two years at most for China to overtake the US," an official at the China Internet Network Information Center told state media.

China had 137m internet users by the end of 2006, an increase of 23% from the year before, the centre reported. This figure means that more than 10% of the population is now online. About 210 million of America’s 300 million people now use the internet, according to US government figures.

Wang Enhai, a spokesman for the internet centre, told the newspaper: "The growth is now gaining much momentum. We are expecting even faster growth in 2007 and 2008."

BBC