IDG's Steven Schwankert reports:

China Internet market grows to 137 million users

China added another 14 million Internet users in 2006, retaining its status as the world's second-largest Internet market, with 137 million total users, the China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) announced Tuesday.

Of those, 90.7 million access the Internet using a broadband connection, a 15 percent jump over 2005, although total broadband use held steady at two-thirds of the Internet population. Also, 17 million users now access the Internet primarily via a wireless device...

...CNNIC, a quasi-government organization, defines an "Internet user" for the purposes of the report as someone over the age of six who uses the Internet on average at least one hour per week. It did not release the size of its sample for the report.

The article also points out that China is different from many developed Internet markets in that the users tend to be poor.

Xinhua has also published an article about the new figures: Internet use in China jumps by almost 25% in 2006