China's Number Of Web Users Rises To 513 Million

BEIJING (AP) — An industry group says China's number of Internet users has surged past 500 million and is still growing strongly.

The China Internet Network Information Center said Monday the mainland's number of Internet users stood at 513 million in December, up 12 percent from a year earlier.

China's communist government promotes Internet use for business and education but tries to block access to material it considers subversive or pornographic.

The latest figures also showed the number of Chinese who surf the Web by mobile phone rose 17.5 percent to 356 million.