Biz monitor

China's Internet sector continued to boom in the first half of 2007 as rising online consumer spending bolstered growth in the advertising and search engine markets, according to the Data Center of the China Internet (DCCI) and the Internet Society of China.

Internet users in China on average spent 186 yuan online each month in the first half of 2007. The figure is expected to reach 196 yuan by the end of the year, up 15.4 percent compared with 2006.

Users are projected to spend 364.11 billion yuan for Internet-related services and products, a year-on-year increase of 32 percent.