China's Internet users reach 485 mln

By Kim Young-gyo
HONG KONG, July 19 (Yonhap) -- The number of Internet users in China is estimated to have reached 485 million during the first half of this year as more people logged onto the Web, government officials said Tuesday.
As of the end of June, 485 million people used the Internet in China, up from 450 million at the end of 2010, said China's State Council Information Office. The figure is equivalent to 36.2 percent of the country's total population of more than 1.3 billion.
Meanwhile, the number of users of microblogs in China is estimated to have reached 195 million in the same period.
According to the Information Office, the number of Chinese microbloggers has tripled since the end of December, when it was 63.1 million.
Microblogging -- the sending of brief texts, audio files or video to select groups through the Internet -- is growing rapidly in China, largely thanks to an explosive increase of people using mobile phones with advanced features.
Popular U.S. social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, are banned for Chinese users. Most Chinese people opted for China's own social network service.
With the number of Internet and microblog users rising, the Information Office said the Chinese government will make further efforts to put the Internet community in good order.
It said China, like the rest of the world, is plagued by online pornography, hacking, viruses and online fraud.
Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site, grabbed many people's attention when it broke some big news stories, including North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's visit to China in May.
ygkim@yna.co.kr