14 DAY TRIAL // According to new statistics from China, the number of Internet users in the country reached the 123 million milestone at the end of June. The metrics were reported by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) who stated that two-thirds of the total number of users are accessing the web via broadband connections. In this context the growth percentage of Chinese Web users in the time span from 2005 to 2006 is 19.4 percent. Analysts have predicted that this percentage will remain in the form of double digits as the local market has an immense potential for growth with an estimated 500 million users to connect over the coming years. The ascendant trend has not gone unnoticed and companies such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft have already converged on the virgin territory represented by China fighting for a share of the future 700 to 800 million Internet users.
No less than 77 million Internet users in China go online via a broadband connection and CNNIC has predicted that the number will increase as the total number of Internet users will grow. 77 million users represent a growth of 45.3% compared with the past year. As yet, China is the second largest Internet market in the world after the United States. But it will soon become first as the US market will reach a saturation point with 85% of the population having an Internet connection compared with only the 10% of Chinese out of a 1.3 billion population.