China's internet users soar to 513 million

China's estimated number of internet users soared to 513 million at the end of last year, up 12 percent from the end of 2010, the government said on January 16. Internet users via mobile telephones hit an estimated 356 million by December, up 17.5 percent from a year earlier, China Internet Network Information Centre reported.
The number of group shopping accounts more than trebled last year to nearly 65 million, the centre said.
It said China's registered websites registered increased by about 20 percent to some 2.3 million. Restrictions on personal websites and a drive against pornography had led to a 41-per-cent drop in the number of websites in 2010.
China's "Great Firewall" system of security controls and internet monitoring blocks hundreds of international websites and specific pages that are deemed politically sensitive, pornographic or otherwise problematic.