China residents logging on in greater numbers

The number of Internet users in China increased by 30 percent last year, according to one of the country's government-sponsored news agencies. The total number of Internet users in China is now approximately 132 million, of whom 52 million (about 39 percent) are using broadband. By comparison, there are approximately 207 million Internet users in the United States.

China now boasts more Internet users than any other country in Asia, followed by Japan with 86 million. Larger than the Internet populations of Africa, Australia, and the Middle East combined, China's 132 million makes up over 30 percent of the total Internet population of Asia, which is approximately 387 million. The total global number of Internet users is thought to be just over a billion—less than a sixth of the planet's inhabitants.

Although Internet access isn't quite ubiquitous yet in China, other communications technologies are extremely pervasive. According to statistics provided by the Chinese embassy, the number of cell phone users in China isgreaterr than 430 million, which means that the country could potentially account for almost half of all cell phone purchases around the world.

As China's Internet population continues to increase, it could become more difficult for the Chinese government to enforce and maintain its censorship mechanisms. Often criticized by the international community for jailing Internet journalists who criticize state policy, the Chinese government uses complex firewalls to limit the accessibility of content that is sexual or critical of the country's government. According to United Press International, Chinese Internet users are increasingly using fake identity card numbers in order to access web sites and Internet games anonymously.

(c) www.arstechnica.com

Taiwan Quake Rattles Asian Communications

by Geoff Duncan

The 7.1 magnitude quake which hit off Taiwan's southern coast Tuesday has disrupted telecommunications and Internet service in Asia.

The 7.1 magnitude earthquake which struck off Taiwan's southern coast Tuesday has dealt a sharp blow to telecommunications and Internet service in south Asia and the Pacific Rim, as companies estimate it may take weeks to fully restore service. Communications providers are attempting to re-route traffic destined for areas as diverse as Hong Kong, Japan, China, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, and India, but congestion and service outages may impact services for weeks.

According to Verizon, as many as 18 underseas telecommunications cables serve the Pacific Rim and south Asia; several cables were damages as a result of the Taiwan earthquake, and it may take weeks to get repair teams into the area, locate the problems, and effect repairs.

The U.K.'s Cable & Wireless has been redirecting traffic throgh Australia and Japan. Chunghwa Telecom said communications between Taiwan and Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong were offline, as well as communication to China, which were all routed through Hong Kong.

The quake hit just offshore from the town of Hengchun, came on the second anniversary of a tsunami that took more than 200,000 lives in southern Asia. Two people were killed when their home collapsed, and a total of 42 people were reported injured in southern Taiwan.

(c) www.digitaltrends.com