China to have 200 million Internet users by 2010

China is expecting 200 million Internet users by the year 2010, with an annual growth rate averaging eight percent and a coverage rate of 15 percent, according to the 11th Five-year Plan (2006-10) of the Ministry of Information Industry (MII).

Xi Guohua, vice information minister, made the remarks at a meeting commemorating the 2007 "World Telecommunication and Information Society Day" held Thursday in Beijing.

China has become one of the countries of fastest-moving telecommunication and information sectors, he said. By the first quarter of this year the number of China's Internet users had reached 144 million, including 97 million wideband subscribers.

New Internet technologies and services including VOIP, P2P, IPTV, instant message and search engine have demanded a higher level of Internet supervision, Xi said.

By People's Daily Online