Chinese Online Population Hit 608 Million in Q3,2013

(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) According to an Internet Society of China (ISC) survey ,the Chinese online population hit 608 million last September , about 45.4 % of the country's population. ISC Vice President Gao Xinmin said at the conference that Web users created 1.8 trillion yuan worth of retail sales in the past year, according to ISC data released here Thursday.



China's online population lost an estimated 149.15 billion yuan (US$24.42 billion) in 2013 to Internet-based scams, according to an Internet Society of China (ISC) survey yesterday



The figure was a conservative estimate, according to the survey, which showed around 55 % of victims lost cash below 100 yuan while 13.4 % lost more than 600 yuan. Online shopping was the most risky area, with money being swindled through scams via text messages, malicious charging on prepaid cell phone accounts and Internet fraud.



Smartphones carried the bigger risks compared to desktops and laptops, showed the survey, released at an annual Internet conference in Beijing. Data showed 77 % of the country's netizens were going online via smartphones last June. This accounts for 8.5 % of the 21.13 trillion yuan worth of total retail sales reported in the first 11 months of 2013. Online retail sales are forecast to grow to 3 trillion yuan by 2015, accounting for 10 % of shopping transactions, according to the data. Major Internet firms have been scrambling for bigger market share by offering payment services.



Data showed transaction value via mobile payment services hit 274.79 billion yuan in the third quarter of 2013, up 185.3 % from the previous three-month period, according to the China e-Business Research Center. "The Chinese Internet economy is in the face of a new wave of rapid development," Gao said. However, ISC vice secretary-general Shi Xiansheng said that the protection of netizens' interests should be made the priority as Internet technologies continue to develop rapidly