The Chinese Ministry of Culture recently set up a special organ to promote the country's 113,000 Internet parlors, which have a yearly income of 25.68 billion yuan (US$3.2 billion).
  
The new organ, known as the Center for the Promotion of the Internet Cafe Industry, is subordinate to the Ministry of Culture.
  
China has more than 1 billion Internet surfers. Though many families and offices have internet access, internet bars receive some 40 million people a day, according to official figures.
  
A total of 1,056,000 people are hired by Internet parlors with 8.28 million set of computers, and the industry has brought revenues of 128.2 billion yuan (US$18 billion) to auxiliary enterprises.

(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2005)