China sees huge growth in internet use

Microblogging and group buying in China each grew more than 200 per cent each in 2011, making these online activities the fastest growing in the country that recently exceeded more than 500 million web users, according to an official report.

The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) released a report yesterday on internet development in the country last year, stating that microblogging grew 296 per cent, or from 63.1 million to 249.9 million, between 2010 and 2011. Similarly, online group buying saw the number of users jump from 18.75 million to 64.65 million representing a 244.8 per cent spike during the time frame, it stated.

The CNNIC pointed that the microblogging scene, in particular, saw "explosive" growth in the first half of last year, but growth slowed in the latter half. It added that the future of microblogs in China will depend on three factors: namely the competition between the different platforms, monetisation of the sites and implementation of the real-name rule as ordered by the government.

That said, the top online activity continues to be instant messaging, with 415.1 million users by the end of 2011, which meant a rise of 17.7 per cent from 2010's 352.6 million, the agency stated.

In terms of China's online population, it reached 513 million by the end of December 2011, the report noted.

Via ZDNet Asia