The number of fixed telephone users in China totaled 190 million by the end of March this year, roughly the same as the number in the United States, according to the latest issue of Popular Science and Technology News.

China also has the world's biggest number of mobile phone users which now stands at more than 160 million. Every 100 people have 15 fixed phones and 12 mobile phones.

More than 37.55 million Chinese are frequent Internet-surfers, making China second only to the United States in Internet population.

By 2005, the mobile phone users in China will soar to 260 million and the number of Internet surfers will lead the world, the paper predicted.

(People's Daily May 24, 2002)