China Web Use Takes Leap
中国互联网实现飞跃
China's rapidly growing population of Internet users may have surpassed the U.S. last month to become the world's largest Internet user base.中国网民数量增，上个月可能已经超过美国，成为全世界最大的网络用户群体。
According to official estimates by government research group China Internet Network Information Center that are released every six months, the number of Internet users grew at an average of 6.1 million users per month in 2007 and would total about 225 million now. In its own research, BDA China Ltd., a Beijing-based technology consulting firm, estimates that China has as many as 228.5 million Internet users, compared with 217.1 million in the U.S.根据政府研究机构中国互联网络信息中心(China Internet Network Information Center)每六个月发布一次的官方预测，2007年，中国网络用户数量平均每月增加610万名，现在的总人数达到2.25亿。位于北京的技术咨询公司BDA China Ltd.预计，中国网民数量高达2.285亿，而美国为2.171亿。
Becoming the world's largest population of Internet users is a milestone for China, and it raises the stakes for Chinese and foreign companies battling for market share. But the U.S. market remains leaps and bounds ahead in terms of online advertising and e-commerce.拥有全球最大的网络用户群体对中国而言意义重大，也会加剧中外公司对市场份额的争夺。但在在线广告和电子商务方面，美国市场仍远远领先。
BDA estimates that China's online advertising market reached $1.3 billion in revenue in 2007, while U.S. Internet ad spending was expected to reach $21.4 billion in the same period, according to New York-based research company eMarketer Inc. Though the two numbers aren't directly comparable, analysts agree the disparity of ratios of user numbers to advertising dollars is vast.BDA预计，2007年中国的在线广告市场总收入为13亿美元，而据纽约研究公司eMarketer Inc.的数据，预计同期美国互联网广告支出达到214美元。虽然这两个数字没有直接的可比性，但分析师们一致认为，用户数量与广告费用比值的差异巨大。
Liu Bin, an analyst at BDA, says the Internet makes up only about 5% of advertising spending in China compared with 10% in the U.S. But if China's economy continues to grow and China's young Internet users increasingly choose the Internet over traditional forms of entertainment, China is bound to catch up.BDA分析师刘斌说，互联网广告仅占中国广告支出的5%，而在美国占10%。但如果中国经济继续增长，同时，相较于传统娱乐形式，中国的年轻互联网用户越来越多地选择互联网，中国一定会迎头赶上。
'Advertising grows with the growth of the economy and media,' Mr. Liu says. Over the next five years, he estimates that the number of Internet users in China will grow at a compounded annual rate of 18.5%, while the U.S. will grow at only 2.2%. By 2012, that would give China 590 million Internet users.刘斌说，广告是随着经济和媒体的发展而增长的。他预计，未来五年中，中国网络用户数量每年的复合增长率将达到18.5%，而美国的增长率仅为2.2%。以此计算，到2012年，中国将有5.90亿网民。
But so far, online advertising has yet to flourish in China, where even the largest Internet companies including search company Baidu.com Inc. -- the most popular Web site in China -- have said they struggle with convincing small to medium-size advertisers of the efficacy of paid search.但迄今为止，在线广告在中国还没有得到很好的发展，就算是搜索引擎百度(Baidu.com Inc.)等最大的网络公司也表示，它们要使出浑身解数让中小广告主相信付费搜索的效力。百度是中国最受欢迎的网站。
E-commerce, which is expected to be a major driver for online advertising, has also been slow to pick up because many consumers are unaccustomed to shopping online, and are still reluctant to pay for products electronically. China's booming niche online games market, meanwhile, has surpassed the combined revenue of online brand advertising and search, with 13.3 billion yuan ($1.87 billion) revenue last year.被认为是在线广告的重大助力的电子商务也发展缓慢，因为许多消费者不习惯在线购物，而且仍然不愿意通过网络为产品付费。与此同时，中国发展迅速的虚拟网络游戏市场去年收入达人民币133亿元（合18.7亿美元），已经超过了在线广告和搜索收入之和。
For now, China has only about a 16% Internet penetration rate compared to the world standard 19.1% and the U.S.'s 69.7%, according to China Internet Network Information Center.据中国互联网络信息中心统计，中国目前的互联网普及率仅为16%左右，而世界水平为19.1%，美国为69.7%。
Loretta Chao
