Over the course of the 2006 year, the Chinese online consumer market grew a whopping 47%, in comparison to 2005. Compared to 150 yuan in 2005, Chinese web surfers are spending an average of 170 yuan (22 dollars) monthly to connect and shop on the internet. At the end of 2006, China boasted 132 million online users, up 19% from 2005. The number of Chinese internet bloggers reached 20.8 million at the end of 2006 - more than three million of them post on a frequent basis. Based on the China Internet Survey Report 2007, 101 million hits were for web logs.
"Web logs have gradually developed into a new trend in Internet information communication, many public figures as well as ordinary people use web blogs ... to express their thoughts," said Huang Chengqing of the China Internet Association.
China's communist government is considering new rules, however, where all users would have to register with their real names before being able to blog. The names would be kept under lock and key, unless an individual broke the law. No details have emerged regarding when and if such rules would be implemented.
News source: Physorg
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