The number of Internet surfers in China is expected to reach 78 million by the end of this month, according to a report on the development of the Internet in China.

The report, given by Hu Qiheng, chairwoman of the Internet Society of China, at the Second Internet Conference of China, said that by the end of the year there would be 500,000 websites and 30 million online computers in China.

According to Hu, China's Internet industry has made remarkable achievements in both technical innovation and services in 2003.

She especially mentioned that the importance of the Internet was clearly shown during the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the first half of the year, during which time a large number of people in cities turned to the Internet to carry on their business.

However, Hu admitted that in comparison with developed countries, the Internet in China is still in its infancy.

For example, the number of Internet surfers in China accounts for only 5.2 percent of the country's total population, while the percentage in the United States is 63.2 and the average percentage among all countries is 10.7.

In addition, online administration and operation of businesses is not as widespread in China as it is in developed countries.

Although 47 percent of the 8.3 million small and medium companies in China have Internet connections, only 11.1 percent of them conduct e-business.

In comparison, 60 percent of small companies, 80 percent of medium-sized companies and 90 percent of large ones in the United States are doing e-business.

At the two-day conference which concluded yesterday, Xi Guohua, vice minister of the information industry, said the ministry will encourage the development of all sorts of public data bases, speed up the establishment of a system for information sharing, and promote the use of the Internet in fields such as the industrial sector, education, culture and healthcare.

(China Daily December 8, 2003)