China Has More Web Surfers Than U.S.
China has more people surfing the Internet than the United States does according to an AP news story. China has about 30 million more web surfers than the U.S.China's booming Internet population has surpassed the United States to become the world's biggest, with 253 million people online despite government controls on Web use, according to government data reported Friday.China is also well known for having strict filters that block China's citizens from viewing many of the world's websites. During the recent situation in Tibet, China reportedly even blocked news websites like CNN and the BBC. U.S. organizations doing business in China - including MSN, Yahoo and Google - have been blamed for complying with China's filters in order to do business in the coutnry. You can read a couple older articles about how China filters the Internet here and here.
The latest figure on Web use at the end of June is a 56 percent increase over the same time last year, the China Internet Network Information Center said. It said the share of the Chinese public using the Internet is still just 19.1 percent, leaving more room for rapid growth.
The United States had an estimated 223.1 million Internet users in June, according to Nielsen Online, a research firm. The Pew Internet and American Life Project puts U.S. online penetration at 71 percent.
"This is the first time the number has drastically surpassed the United States, becoming the world's No. 1," a CNNIC statement said.
Posted on July 24, 2008
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