21 July 2006

New reports suggest that China is taking the Internet revolution to its hearts, with more people gaining access to it and greater numbers using it.

Internet technology is being used to "trade, talk and learn", according to website silicon.com , with growth in use mirroring the growth in GDP.

Research from Ipos Insight suggests that Chinese people spend more time online than those from any other country - with 17.9 hours taken surfing the Internet per month.

Porter Erisman, vice president for the trading website Alibaba, commented: "The Internet is at the core of community. If you look at online communities in the West... in China it's like that but on steroids. The culture is incredibly social and people always want to be connected to friends and family.

"People absorb new technologies so quickly. In China a few years ago not only did you not have Auto Trader magazine, you didn't have autos [but now China has both].

"So everything in China leaps to the next level very quickly."

The news follows recent reports that China has released several journalists branded as cyber dissidents and is hence opening the doors for freedom and accessibility of the Internet.

Paris-based group Reporters Without Frontiers criticised the country for persecuting the journalists for their work.

© Adfero Ltd

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