Wide Swath of China Is Surfing the Internet

BEIJING -- Internet use is spreading farther than expected in China , reaching smaller, less-developed cities, and would likely be even more popular if not for government controls, according to two surveys.

The surveys, conducted by the government-backed Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, are the most extensive on Internet use in China to date. Researchers interviewed 4,100 people in 12 cities, from the major urban centers on the prosperous coast to interior towns where economic growth has lagged behind. The surveys show that Internet penetration is on average highest in the metropolises of Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou -- where one-third of all residents use the Internet -- but small cities of around 100,000 in population ranked a surprising second, with 27% of residents going online. That percentage surpasses the 24% rate in four leading industrial provincial capitals, according to the surveys.

Underpinning the growth in small cities is an array of factors, including government policies and free-market competition to provide Internet services, says one of the surveys, on small cities. In Yima, a city in hilly, rural Henan province, for example, a mining company vied with the local subsidiary of China's telecommunications authority to offer Internet services starting in the late 1990s. The result was low-cost Internet connections and a surge in Internet cafes -- 60 of them by early 2002 -- for a city of 120,000 where incomes average 0 a year and many residents can't afford a home computer.

The findings, say the researchers who conducted the study, suggest that the Internet's impact is greater than previously thought, with implications for the future of the economy and the communist government. Far from being a tool of the educated and well-off in big cities, the Internet is cutting across income and geographical lines in China , creating a populace that is better informed and more demanding of the government, the researchers say. "The Internet's emergence has filled a void," Hu Xianhong of Peking University wrote in the survey on small cities.

GOING ONLINE China's soaring Internet use • Total users: 68 million   • Profile: 56% male; 58.2% between ages 17 and 24   • Income: 39.2% have no monthly income   • Activities: 57% go online to read news   • Location: 62.8% log on from home, for an average 5.35 hours a week   Behind the numbers • Usage highest in major metropolises: 33% of population   • But small cities come next: 27%   • While provincial capitals lag: 24%   Attitudes • Regulation: 86.2% believe in government control of the Internet   • But of what: Only 12.9% think political content should be controlled   Source: "Internet Usage and Impact in Twelve Chinese Cities" – Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Overall, the surveys found that 56% of the 68 million Internet users in China are male, and 58% are between the ages of 17 and 24. Nearly 40%, who are either students or unemployed, have no monthly income, which has a damping effect on electronic commerce. Only one in five Internet users has made a purchase online, and most are for small items such as books or movie tickets. However, nearly 12% of online orders were for the purchase of computers.

The surveys also include good news for China's three Nasdaq-listed portals -- Netease.com Inc., Sina Corp. and Sohu.com Inc. -- which are the most frequently used services for accessing Web sites. And Chinese users spend most of their Internet time browsing Web pages and reading news.

This emerging online community, according to the surveys, shares ideas that could pose a challenge to a government often bent on control. More than 85% recognize a role for the government in managing and controlling the Internet, and most are concerned about pornographic and violent content. But fewer than 13%, the survey says, believe that the government should police political content, and overwhelmingly people see the Internet as a medium allowing greater freedom of speech and criticism of government policies.

"Most people strongly believe that the Internet will affect Chinese politics," says the study on Internet use, authored by Guo Liang, considered a leading authority on the Internet's social impact in China .

Authorities, however, have sought to rein in this impulse, targeting for arrest those who disseminate dissenting opinions online. Last week, a civil servant in Hubei province, Du Daobin, was formally arrested on subversion charges for posting essays critical of the government and for organizing a petition protesting the detention of another Internet activist.

The surveys suggest that Internet use would likely be even more widespread without government controls. In the small cities and provincial capitals, less affluent populations rely on Internet cafes, the surveys say, and a crackdown last year has led to closings, reducing the number of outlets. In Yima city, the government canceled all licenses and limited the number of new ones it issued to 38 establishments, though some outlets operate illegally. The government, the survey says, has decided that Internet cafes should be limited to one for every 10,000 residents.

Write to Charles Hutzler at charles.hutzler@wsj.com