Cai Xuan, 28, is the author of Magic Set, a well-known shareware first introduced in 1999 to sweep away garbage from the registration table of Windows 98 and optimize functioning of the system. It is especially accessible to Chinese users due to its simple interface, easy operation and reliability.

"At least 40,000 customers paid for registration and used the complete version last year," said Cai.

Different from commercial software such as MS Office, basic versions of shareware can be obtained and used for free. It is up to the users to decide whether to pay for a complete and more powerful version or to keep using the trial version.

Shareware, including Winzip, Acdsee, Flashget and Magic Set, can be widely found on computer hard disks in China and even the world.

Cai Xuan, a zealous cartoon fan, started to learn computer programming in 1997 after graduating from medical school, and published his first version of Magic Set in 1999.

As one of the first non-professional software writers in China, Cai shares some characteristics with others: a job in an industry other than information technology; a desire to disseminate their own values through their products; and a willingness to help Chinese with computer applications.

Through their various products, Cai and his fellow shareware designers have brought more diversity to the information technology industry which was being monopolized by software from giant companies.

"We must expect that shareware seldom earns big money and our efforts maybe never be repaid. Most of the guys doing shareware live not on money, but enthusiasm, and so do I," Cai said in 1999 when the first version of Magic Set was published but still had few customers.

His efforts, however, paid off as the amount of computer users and Internet subscribers soared. The upgraded version of Magic Set entered the top 10 lists of many major software download websites in 2000. It was honored as one of the ten best Chinese softwares by the China Association of Software Industry in 2001.

There were only about 20 sharewares available on Internet in 1999 and now over 4,400 could be found, said Li Huanmin, manager with the Chinese Shareware Registration Center, a commercial organization offering service to help customers get complete versions of shareware after registration.

The center deals with 95 percent of total Chinese shareware and receives dozens of new works from designers, many of whom come from western cities such as Baotou, Urumqi, Guiyang and Xi'an.

"Even though we have no specific statistics, I can confirm that, compared with the situation three years ago, many more people are now willing to pay for using a software and more young people want to write shareware," said Li.

According to Li, people can get a code through e-mail after paying a registration fee usually ranging between 20 to 100 yuan (two to 12 US dollars). With the code, users can have access to a complete version of the shareware and latest upgrade information.

"The shareware works without big money and that's why it is popular," said Li.

China had 59.1 million Internet users by the end of last year, the second largest number in the world after the United States, according to a report by China Internet Network Information Center(CNNIC) issued this January.

(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2003)