As the number of internet users keeps soaring, China's IP address will be used up in two or three years, according to Wu Hequan, an expert from the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

China now has 380 million internet users. Every two of them use one IP address. People seldom feel inconvenienced right now, because not everyone surfs the net at the same time.

However, China's IP resources can only sustain two or three years at current distribution rate, and new internet users could have difficulty visiting the internet.

According to Wu, IPv6 network address, which was developed by the United States, may solve the problem. IPv6 features unlimited resources so that even a rock can get an IP address form it.

Using IPv6 means internet operators have to invest large mount of money to buy new equipment and discard the old ones. Currently, only edu.cn in China use this kind of IP.

(China Daily August 24, 2009)