China Passes U.S. With 220 Million Online

April 21, 2008 1:43 p.m. EST

Beijing, China (AHN) - China is now the world's largest user of the Internet with 220 million users as of February, Beijing-based researcher BDA China said.

The U.S. had been the largest Internet audience with 216 million users at the end of 2007, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.

But in terms of percentage of population, the U.S. still remains on top with 71 percent, while China, with a 1.3 billion population, only has 17 percent Internet penetration rate.

This is the second time that China has overtaken the U.S. in tapping technology in absolute numbers. Earlier, China's number of mobile phone users climbed to 520 million and will soon top 600 million.

However Chinese have been getting connecting online at a faster rate than the U.S. From 210 million in December 2007, the number of online Chinese has been steadily climbing to 220 million in February and 233 million in March.

The fast rise of online China is connected to the country's economic boom and relatively low cost of getting online, with broadband service now down to $10 a month, Duncan Clark, the BDA chairman, told USA Today.