China outclicks the US

China has surpassed the United States in terms of Internet users, a research firm confirmed yesterday.

"Internet users in China reached 210 million by the end of last year, very close to the 216 million users in the United States," said Liu Bin, an analyst at research firm BDA. "According to our calculations, China has already replaced the United States as the country with most Internet users by the end of last month."

The US has occupied the top slot since the inception of Internet in 1969 as a network of computers under the auspices of the US Department of Defense