The number of Internet users in China reached 123 million on June 30, up 19.4 percent from 103 million in 2005, the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) said on Wednesday.

The growth rate was 1 percent higher than last year.

The number of netizens was up by 12 million during the first half of this year, twice as much as the same period of last year, according to the center.

The number of broadband subscribers totaled 77 million, up from 53 million, nearly two thirds of the total Internet population.

China is the second largest country in the world in terms of both Internet population and the number of broadband users, after the United States.

The report said 30 million of the country's 200 million middle and primary school students have access to the Internet, or 15.4 percent, while half of senior middle school students have access to the Internet.

Each netizen spent a record 16.5 hours per week browsing the web, according to the report.

About 15 million frequently use the Internet for education, while 25 million frequently use the net for online employment information, and 26 percent of netizens shop online, the CNNIC reported.

(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2006)