China's meteoric Internet growth, already eye-catching in the world, has an even greater development potential, and will continue to promote a freer flow of information in China, major website executives and experts attending a seminar in South China's Hainan Province said recently.

China, the world's second largest Internet market after the United States with 111 million Internet users, is expected to see an annual jump of at least 15 percent in the number of netizens before 2010.

"This means big business and enormous opportunities," said Wang Yan, chief executive officer of sina.com, a top Chinese portal listed on the New York Nasdaq stock exchange.

People hooked to the Internet now account for a mere 8.4 percent of China's total population. Web-based business is still at its ascent, said more than 70 executives and Internet researchers who attended the annual meeting of the Internet Information Service Commission of the Internet Society of China in Hainan on Monday.

"Among the countries whose per-capita yearly GDP is less than US$2,000, China has witnessed the fastest Internet sector growth, and the boom is a manifestation of China's effective yet market-friendly regulation," Wang said.

Up to 20 Chinese firms have been listed abroad, mainly in the United States, with a gross market value exceeding US$10 billion, and more are waiting to get on the bandwagon.

China's meteoric Internet growth, already eye-catching in the world, has an even greater development potential, and will continue to promote a freer flow of information in China, major website executives and experts attending a seminar in South China's Hainan Province said recently.

China, the world's second largest Internet market after the United States with 111 million Internet users, is expected to see an annual jump of at least 15 percent in the number of netizens before 2010.

"This means big business and enormous opportunities," said Wang Yan, chief executive officer of sina.com, a top Chinese portal listed on the New York Nasdaq stock exchange.

People hooked to the Internet now account for a mere 8.4 percent of China's total population. Web-based business is still at its ascent, said more than 70 executives and Internet researchers who attended the annual meeting of the Internet Information Service Commission of the Internet Society of China in Hainan on Monday.

"Among the countries whose per-capita yearly GDP is less than US$2,000, China has witnessed the fastest Internet sector growth, and the boom is a manifestation of China's effective yet market-friendly regulation," Wang said.

Up to 20 Chinese firms have been listed abroad, mainly in the United States, with a gross market value exceeding US$10 billion, and more are waiting to get on the bandwagon.