China, already the world leader in cell phone use, has surpassed the USA as the No. 1 nation in Web users.

The number of Chinese on the World Wide Web hit more than 220 million as of February, according to estimates from official Chinese statistics by the Beijing-based research group BDA China. The government is likely to confirm the leap at its half-yearly report in July.

The longtime Net leader, the USA, which founded and developed the network of computers, had 216 million users at the end of 2007, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.

The percentage of American users — 71 percent — still exceeds China’s 17 percent. China has 1.3 billion folks, compared with nearly 304 million in the USA.

China, however, has a higher growth rate, says BDA’s chairman, Duncan Clark. By the end of March, for example, Chinese users climbed to 233 million.

At the end of 2007, China’s Net users reached 210 million, a jump of 53 percent

from the previous year, says Zhang Shanshan, media director for the China Web Network knowledge Center, which gathers statistics for the Ministry of knowledge Industry.

Clark says the rapid growth is powered in part by China’s economic boom. While the government “continues to filter the Net and inspire self-censorship, it additionally has a mandate to promote cheaper technology and the knowledge economy.”

And there is strong government backing for companies such as China Netcom, which offers broadband service at $10 a month, Clark says.

At the company’s Xibahe branch in north Beijing, dozens of society recently lined up to buy broadband service.

Sun Xin, 19, a student, was helping his parents sign up for DSL.

“My friends all agree — no Net, no life,” Sun says. “We use it every day for MSN, and I love playing games like World of Warcraft.” The game is so popular that players can pay companies…

Orginal post by Top Tech News