The popularity of smartphones bred the boom in mobile security. (Photo : sh4009.com)
The State Internet Information Office (SIIO) reports there are 604 million people using Internet in China at the end of September 2013.
The report shows at least 464 million of the Chinese netizens use mobile phone to go online. The purpose for going online is to check email, browse the Internet or make online purchases.
"Mobile phone is fast becoming the most favored means of accessing the web in China," Ren Xianliang, the SIIO vice director, told Xinhua News Agency in an interview. Ren added smartphones or mobile phones became more popular than destop computers and this is one sign that the country has already entered the era of mobile Internet.
The data released by the SIIO also showed that all Chinese cities and up to 99 per cent of the country's townships are already connected to the Internet.
Ren said the Internet has become an incubator for the country's booming electronic business.
Meanwhile, a separate report released by the State Council's Development Research Center showed that mobile payment in China is expected to surpass 800 billion yuan, or US$130 billion, before the year ends.
The expected figure is more than five times the volume of mobile payments receipt recorded last year. The State Council said more Chinese individuals are using their mobile phones to make online purchases.
Due to the foreseen boom in the mobile Internet market, major Internet companies in China are beefing up or restructuring their businesses to corner a substantial share of the market.
For instance, Wechat, the most popular instant-messaging service in the mainland, has recently added a mobile payment service on its platform. Other Internet firms, including Baidu, are also introducing their own mobile payment service.
