Hot Words

上网 (shangwang)

Surfing the Internet

A term used to describe people surfing the Internet.

Introduced in China in the mid-1990s, the Internet quickly gained popularity throughout the country and heavily impacted society.

By the end of June last year, the number of Internet users in China reached 221 million, making it the world's No 1, ahead of the United States, according to the Data Center of China Internet (DCCI). China's netizen population was estimated to have reached 280 million by the end of last year.

In addition to online games, music, e-mail, and chat services, Internet has also proved to be an efficient platform for commercial deals. It is estimated that the country's e-commerce transactions amounted to $300 billion in 2007 and 25 percent of netizens said they had had online deals.

(China Daily 01/15/2009 page8)