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The number of Internet users in China has reached 103 million, second only to the United States.
About nine million Chinese became netizens in the first half of this year, an increase of 18.4 per cent over the same period last year, the survey issued on Thursday by the quasi-governmental China Internet Network Information Centre said.
While more than 67 per cent of the US population, about 135 million people have access to the Internet, in China the percentage is only about 7.9 per cent.
The survey also suggests great potential for growth in online shopping - nearly 20 per cent of Chinese Internet users have shopped online at least once.
Online trade volume in the first half of the year is estimated at $1.23 billion, with nearly half of that amount paid online, China Daily quoted CNNIC official Wang Enhai as saying.
Online games players spent a total of $493 million in the six-month period on virtual items such as equipment, arms and identities.
The report also said that by June 30, China had 45.6 million computers hooked up to the Net, compared with 41.6 million the previous year.
In addition, more people in China are surfing the Internet by broadband rather than dial-up, the survey said.