China Online

“The total number of Internet users in China grew by 86 million in 2009,” reports Frank Holmes with yet another large China-growth number, “a 29% increase year-over-year.”

China now has 384 million Web surfers.

“That’s well more than the entire population of the U.S. and Canada combined,” Frank points out. “Of that number, 90% have broadband connections, according to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).

“Nearly 30% of Chinese now use the Internet, and this sets the stage for explosive growth in the years ahead. Once Internet penetration in the U.S. reached 20%, it took just six years to get to 60%.

“Japan needed only three years to go from 20% to 40%, and Brazil went from 20% penetration in 2005 to more than 35% by 2007.

“Two of the biggest growth areas for commerce in 2009 were online banking and e-commerce. UTline jumped 78% last year. A recent McKinsey report says a significant number of Chinese consumers ages 18 to 44 won’t purchase a product or service without first researching it on the Web.

“As the Internet continues to expand its reach into the lives of Chinese people, keep an eye on how users leverage the technology to improve their living standards.”