China Just 5M Users Shy of Becoming World’s Largest Internet Market

New statistics released by the Chinese Government show that China is due to surpass the United States as the nation with the most internet users in the coming months. The state-owned China Internet Network Information Center said that China’s total number of Internet users rose 53% to 210 million at the end of 2007 up from 137 million at the end of 2006 and 162 million in June 2007. According to the WSJ, China is now just five million users shy of surpassing the United States as the world’s largest Internet market. Chinese internet stocks listed in the United States and elsewhere soared in 2007 has the market continued to grow at massive rates. Notably though most Chinese access the internet via internet cafe’s, although home or business internet use is also rapidly growing.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/17/china-close-to-becoming-worlds-largest-internet-market-by-users/