The Informatization Office of the State Council recently publicized
survey results of China's Internet information resources, giving a
clear picture of conditions online in China.
By
the end of December 31, 2002, there were a total of 940,000 domain
names and 370,000 websites in China. The total number of web pages
reached 157 million with each website averaging 422.7 web pages.
The total capacity of the web pages was 2.877 trillion bytes.
Wang Angeng, a member of the National Informatization Expert
Consultation Committee pointed out after analyzing the survey data
that domain names and websites have increased nearly 40 percent
since China first carried out the survey on Internet information
resources in 2001, paralleling with the increase in website
content. However, compared with the number of netizens and their
increasing demands, the increase in the content has lagged behind.
This acts as a reminder that informatization work in its next phase
should focus on development and utilization of information
resources rather than purchasing equipment.
According to the survey, domain names and website resources in
Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Shanghai account for 51.6 percent
and 58.2 percent of the total number in the country. The number of
websites in Guangdong Province alone in the past 20 months
increased from 14.5 percent to 19 percent. The growth rate was
equal to the reduced quota of websites in the whole western region
during the same period. Experts think it shows the digital gap
between east and west still exists and has even broadened. More
attention should be attached to this phenomenon.
In
regard to content updating, government websites were obviously
slower than commercial websites. The updating period for columns
such as "government functions and business range" in almost all
government websites was over six months. The updating period for
"statistics and materials" in 85.8 percent government websites was
over six months. Meanwhile, interactive services provided by
government websites were generally at a low level. "Complaints,
letters and visits", "form downloading", "polls and opinion
soliciting" were three services most likely provided by government
websites. However, less than one-third of government websites
provided such services. This indicates that e-government in China
is still in its preliminary stage and the digital gap between China
and developed countries is broadening.
Commissioned by the State Council Informatization Office, the
survey was conducted by China Electronic Information Industry
Development Research Institute and China Internet Network
Information Center from November 2003 and completed May
2003.
(China.org.cn by Wang Qian, July 17, 2003)