The Chinese mainland has become the second largest market after the United States in terms of iPhone applications downloads, said market research company Distimo in a recent report.

According to the report, the download volume of iPhone apps in Asian countries has grown significantly in the past six months. While western countries witnessed a decrease in download volume during the same time.

However, despite the surge in application download volume, most downloads in China are free, said Distimo. In fact, the Netherland-based analytic firm found that customers in Asian countries are generally more price-sensitive and prefer to download the free equivalent of an app rather than pay for a premium ad-free version.

China's ranking is in line with the growing popularity of Apple Inc's iPhones in the country. The real user base of iPhone apps is actually much larger because some Chinese users registers with the US Apple accounts, said industry analysts.

Also, many iPhone users in China chose to "jailbreak" their smartphones in order to download and install popular applications for free. This is also consistent with Distimo's findings.

Apple Inc. COO Tim Cook said in April that iPhone sales in China grew by 250 percent in the first quarter, while its US sales were up by 150 percent during the same time period.