The country with the highest number of citizens has now also become the country with the highest number of netizens. China has surpassed the USA to become the world's largest Internet market with 253 million web users at the end of June, revealed the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).

China added 43 million web users in the first six months of this year, while the number of US Internet users increased to 230 million at the end of June from 218 million last year. Of the 43 million users, a high percentage of users are high school students (about 39 million) and those below 30 years of age (about 69%).

CNNIC reports that the number of active Chinese Internet users was 111 million by December 2005, up from 94 million in 2004. And over the past two years, it has been growing at a steady rate of 18%. The 253 million web users by June-end is a 56% increase from a year ago.

And this rise in Internet usage in China comes even after several restrictions imposed by the government on the web use in the country. Read more in AP report.

However, the percentage of Chinese citizens using the Internet is just 19%, which is less than the global average of 21% and far behind the USA's 71%.

With China hosting the world's highest number of netizens, Wi-Fi TV has also made its move towards the country. The company has announced its plans concerning the Chine web market in a series of webcasts shot in Beijing and Los Angeles. To view the webcasts, visit Wi-FiTV.com.