Statistics in the latest report by the China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) show that China's Internet community has multiplied 128 times in a little more than six years, with netizens currently numbering about 80 million–a considerable increase from the 620,000 users recorded in 1997.

By December 2003, the number had already risen to 79.5 million, with 11.5 million new users recorded in the second half of 2003, a higher growth than the 8.9 million recorded in the first six months of that year. Although a large amount, this current number is still only 6.2% of the country's total population.