The Informatization Office of the State Council recently publicized survey results of China's Internet information resources, giving a clear picture of conditions online in China.

By the end of December 31, 2002, there were a total of 940,000 domain names and 370,000 websites in China. The total number of web pages reached 157 million with each website averaging 422.7 web pages. The total capacity of the web pages was 2.877 trillion bytes.

Wang Angeng, a member of the National Informatization Expert Consultation Committee pointed out after analyzing the survey data that domain names and websites have increased nearly 40 percent since China first carried out the survey on Internet information resources in 2001, paralleling with the increase in website content. However, compared with the number of netizens and their increasing demands, the increase in the content has lagged behind. This acts as a reminder that informatization work in its next phase should focus on development and utilization of information resources rather than purchasing equipment.

According to the survey, domain names and website resources in Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Shanghai account for 51.6 percent and 58.2 percent of the total number in the country. The number of websites in Guangdong Province alone in the past 20 months increased from 14.5 percent to 19 percent. The growth rate was equal to the reduced quota of websites in the whole western region during the same period. Experts think it shows the digital gap between east and west still exists and has even broadened. More attention should be attached to this phenomenon.

In regard to content updating, government websites were obviously slower than commercial websites. The updating period for columns such as "government functions and business range" in almost all government websites was over six months. The updating period for "statistics and materials" in 85.8 percent government websites was over six months. Meanwhile, interactive services provided by government websites were generally at a low level. "Complaints, letters and visits", "form downloading", "polls and opinion soliciting" were three services most likely provided by government websites. However, less than one-third of government websites provided such services. This indicates that e-government in China is still in its preliminary stage and the digital gap between China and developed countries is broadening.

Commissioned by the State Council Informatization Office, the survey was conducted by China Electronic Information Industry Development Research Institute and China Internet Network Information Center from November 2003 and completed May 2003.

(China.org.cn by Wang Qian, July 17, 2003)