New Delhi, Oct.13 : An estimated 172 million Chinese were using the Internet by the end of September.

According to the country’s Ministry of Information Industry (MII), this accounts for about 13 percent of the total population.

The figure, announced by MII Vice Minister Lou Qinjian at the Ninth Hi-tech Fair in Shenzhen on Friday, indicates that more than 100 Chinese have access to the Internet every minute.

Lou said the ministry expected the figure to reach 200 million, about 15 percent of the population, by 2010 at an annual growth rate of eight percent, as stated in its fifth five-year plan (2006-2010).

However, the figure would easily top 200 million no later than the end of next year, if the growth rate in the past three months were maintained.

The number of Internet users in rural areas in the first nine months was unavailable, but the number stood at 37.41 million by the end of June, approximately 5.1 percent of the rural population. (ANI)