The China Internet Network Information Center announced in a report Tuesday afternoon, January 23, 2007, that the number of Chinese Internet users had risen by 23.4 percent to 137 million by the end of last year. [Photo: cnr.cn]

The number of Internet users in China has risen by 23.4 percent over the past year to 137 million, according to a report released Tuesday.

The figure is up from 111 million at the beginning of last year, the China Internet Network Information Center said in the report.

This means 10.5 percent of China's population is now online, up from 8.5 percent a year ago. In Beijing, 30 percent of all residents are online, the highest rate in China.

The report said the number of Chinese Internet users with broadband access has grown to 104 million, accounting for nearly 76 percent of all users.

Chinese Internet users usually use the Internet to send and receive emails, read the latest news and search for information said the report.

The Internet has become the most important way for netizens to get to know about the world. Lack of PC knowledge and unfamiliarity with the Internet are the biggest influences on whether or not someone goes online.

Seventeen million people surf the Internet through mobile phones, accounting for 12.4 percent of all netizens.

The report also revealed that people who never use the Internet do so because they lack computer knowledge or have no Internet access.