Internet use has grown at such an alarming speed in China that some say even the traditional friendly greeting of "Have you eaten (today)?" has been replaced by "Have you surfed the Net (today)?"
"The Internet has totally changed the Chinese people's way of life," said Xu Xiaolan, of the Beijing Broad Band Net Company.
"Without leaving your room, you can do so many things online ranging from learning, meeting people, playing video games to shopping."
There are now 46 million Internet surfers in China, compared with 8.9 million two years ago, according to the China Internet Network Information Center.
More and more Chinese are participating in government decision-making and legislation via the Internet because it is convenient, efficient and cheap.
While drafting the outline for China's 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05), the State Development Planning Commission received more than 10,000 submissions from people via special websites, of which over 300 were adopted.
The volume of e-commerce also continues growing every year. Commodities such as computers, daily necessities, books, audio and videodiscs are all available online.
The Internet has played an important role when people look for new jobs, with 35 percent of job seekers finding work online.
Economic specialists believe economic growth in different areas is closely related to the development of the information industry - the greater the Internet access, the faster the economic growth.
Internet business is greater in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province, Wuhan in Central China's Hubei Province and Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan Province.
Though most Internet surfers are from urban areas, a growing number of rural residents, who make up 800 million of the 1.3 billion population, have begun to surf the Internet where they can learn more about the world and how to sell their farm produce.
Internet use is not more frequent among certain demographics, statistics show.
While males below the age of 35 are the main users, most Internet surfers have a below-college education and low incomes, according to the China Internet Information Network Center.
However there is a downside to frequent Internet use, experts say.
Some young people and students are so obsessed with the Internet that they are lost in its virtual world.
A survey conducted in East China's Jiangsu Province showed 80 percent of failed college students were avid Internet users.
Psychiatric counselor Liu Xiaolin believes that the Internet has become a major obstacle in the development of young people and that many problems have been caused by its inconsistent administration.
Many youngsters spend a large amount of time chatting and playing games online.
The Internet, with both good and bad content, will have a negative impact on the spiritual lives of inexperienced surfers, Liu said.
Despite these concerns, the Chinese Government has strived to speed up construction of the Internet, to have it play a more active role in daily life and work.
Governmental organizations and medium-sized and small businesses are all going online, along with educational and health care programs.
Wang Yuesheng, an Internet bar owner in Beijing, said he endorses the government's measures. "They help standardize administration and promote the development of the Internet."
A total of 57 Chinese academics have appealed to the government to work out plans for the construction and research of a new-generation Internet.
The State Development Planning Commission is currently coordinating related work in this regard.
(Xinhua News Agency October 21, 2002)
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