By Xinhua
Beijing : China’s Internet consumption hit 398.8 billion yuan ($53.89 billion) mark last year and is expected to reach 581.5 billion yuan ($80 billion) in the current year, up 45.8 percent, according to a survey.
The “Netguide 2008” survey report released Tuesday polled more than 300 web sites and about 200 enterprises, with 50,786 users interviewed around the country.
The Internet consumption includes all web-related expenses such as broadband instalment expenses, payment for online game and shopping, and payment for IP phone services. according to Fu Zhihua, director of the Data Center of China Internet (DCCI) research department that conducted the survey.
The DCCI survey also reports that Sina Corp., Netease.com Inc., Tencent and Sohu.com Inc., China’s four largest Internet portals, have gained most from the robust Internet industry, accounting for about 76 percent of total web portal revenue in China.