In March 2008, China has about 220 million Internet users, overtaking the number of web surfers in the United States for the first time ever, according to BDA China.

The firm said that the China Internet Network Information Center counted 210 million Internet users in China at the end of 2007 a rise of 53.3 percent from a year earlier.  Nielsen/NetRatings counted 216 million U.S. users at the end of 2007. Assuming the markets have continued to grow at the same rates as last year, BDA's principal new media analyst Bin Liu concluded that China now has more Internet users than the United States.

"It's driven by continued economic growth and improved broadband infrastructure," said Liu Bin, an analyst with BDA China. By the end of 2008, China is expected to have 280 million Internet users, he said.

In addition, Chinese Internet users spend nearly two billion hours online each week, while the U.S. audience logs on for 129 million hours per week, according to Dr. Charles Zhang, chairman and CEO of Sohu.com.

The United States has occupied the number one position ever since the birth of the Internet as a network of computers under the auspices of the US Department of Defense in 1969, the state-run China Daily newspaper said.

The fast-growing online population has made the Internet a new forum for average Chinese to express opinions in a free-wheeling way rarely seen on the strictly government-controlled traditional media. It also presents huge business opportunities.