[photopress:it_country_Internet.jpg,full,alignright]You have to be a bit careful here. The headline is literally true. Boosted by strong economic growth and government support for rural network construction, the online population in rural areas of China grew by an impressive 127.7% last year, three times more than the expansion rate in urban areas.
And that means that China has edged out the US to have the world’s largest internet population of 221 million.
China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) said about 29.17 million out of China’s 73 million new internet users, or 40%, were from the countryside, raising the internet population in rural areas to 52.62 million,
All absolutely true. But note carefully that most internet surfers were still from cities and online games are still a major, major force. Yes, the rural population is getting connected but it will be a few years before it is using the Internet in the sense that it is generally meant.
The official Xinhua news agency reported 53.3% among rural residents who have yet to go online do not know how to use computers or the Internet, while 23.1% lacked Internet facilities.
Most of the rural Internet users — 61.4% — go online for news. Think of it as a selective television set.
And the country still lags well behind the U.S. in the percentage of their respective populations that use the Internet.
China currently has only a 16% Internet penetration among its residents — lower than the worldwide average of 19.1%, and well below the 72% usage rate in the U.S.
China began allowing individuals to access the Internet via dial-up services in 1995. China has promised full and unrestricted Internet access during August’s 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing despite concerns among security officials about possible cyberattacks.
Source: ComputerWorld and The Economic Times
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