China is on pace to surpass the number of Internet users in the U.S. Last year the country had a 23 percent increase in Internet users brining the total to 137 million.
In an interview with China Daily, Wang Enhai of the Chinese Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) said, “We believe it will take two years at most for China to overtake the United States. We are expecting even faster growth in 2007 and 2008 given that Internet penetration now has exceeded 10.5 percent in the country. An increasing number of people are now getting hooked to the Web as PCs and Internet access are becoming affordable and internet-based offerings diversified.”
The total population of China is around 1.3 billion people. If their current growth rate of Internet users continues they could reach 210 million users in two years. In the U.S. 210 million people are currently online with a population of about 300 million.
The increase in Internet use in China is due to the growing population, affordable computer prices and the use of mobile devices according to the CINIC. Close to 17 million people access the Internet using mobile devices.
As China’s Internet users increase the issue of censorship will remain a tricky issue for companies like Google, Yahoo and eBay to navigate. They have all ready been criticized by groups like Reporters Without Borders for side stepping the censorship issue in order to profit in the market.
“They all say they’re trying to be sensitive to the Chinese government’s concerns,” said Julien Pain, the head of RWB’s Internet Freedom desk. “But that’s a fake argument. How far are they willing to go for this sensitivity? Will they give up the names of dissidents or help Chinese authorities track down political bloggers?”
Add to 
Mike is a staff writer for murdok. Visit murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
