China Has World's Most User Microblogger

China has the largest number of users microbloggers in the world, says a recent report on the development of new media in the country.

The report, published by the Social Sciences Academic Press annually each year, citing Internet Network Information Center (CINIC), who said that about 274 million Chinese people have a microblog account in June of this year.

Number of microbloggers increased sharply from about 63 million in 2010, according to a report released by a team of social scientists led by Yin Yungong, the director of the Institute of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Microblogging has become an important channel for Chinese people to express themselves, especially about public issues, he said.

It is also a channel of communication that is easy and inexpensive between the government and citizens, the report said. On Sina Weibo, the leading microblogging service, 18 132 accounts have been registered by the Party and government departments and officials in October.

Social networks like microblogging has begun to set the agenda of public opinion and people's emotions are affected in some incidents, such as high-speed train crash near Wenzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, in July last year, the report said.

The Government has recognized the influence of social networking and more effort in working with them, he said.

The study authors reported from July to December last year showed that the authorities respond to approximately 71.9 per cent of the issues discussed extensively by microbloggers and 50.4 percent within 24 hours.

In addition to microblogging, instant messaging is also popular with the Chinese people and has taken over the search engines, music and news into the most popular online applications, the report said. He added that about 415 million in China using instant messaging applications.

The report warns that the legislation relating to new media has lagged behind their development. There is still no law that specializes in Internet and related articles many existing laws need to be revised, he added.

The report also shows that China work out a national strategy on the development of new media and find ways to manage it.

The number of Internet users in China rose 10.9 percent year on year to 538 million by the end of June, which means that four out of ten people mengakse internet in China, according to figures from CINIC.

It is estimated that by 2015 China will have more Internet users than 800 million, a quarter of which will come from rural areas, the report said.

China should put himself in a position that is more active in the development of the Internet and pay more attention to protect the interests and security in cyber space, the report said. Quoted from: news.xinhuanet.com