Chinese use computers at an Internet cafe in Hefei,easternChinas Anhui province.The Internet is becoming more andmorepopular in China, where 123 million users were counted by theendof June, second in the world only to the United States.

The fast growth of Internet has become a spotlight inChinasinformation and communications industries, said ViceMinister ofMinistry of Information Industry Jiang Yaoping onThursday.

Jiang told a national meeting on Internet that thecountrysincreasing netizens prompted the rapid development ofInternetrelated technologies in China.

The number of broadband users reached 77 million and therearecurrently 788,000 websites in the country, according toJiang.

Despite its second place in the world list, Internetpenetrationis actually relatively weak per capita in the country of1.3billion people.

Jiang said Internet has played an increasingly important roleinpromoting Chinas economic development and improving peopleslifequality.

Meanwhile, he said China is stepping up efforts in supervisingtheInternet. With the wide use of Internet in the country, hisministryhas already shifted focus from ensuring information andnetworksafety to protecting intellectual property centers,consumerscenters and privacy and business secrets.

A series of rules and regulations have been worked out inthisregard, including the Internet Safety Emergency Plan, henoted.

broadband user