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The number of people who surf the Internet via mobile devices in China has for the first time exceeded the number using computers to go online, an industry report said on Monday.

The number increased by 14.42 million over the past six months, so that now 83.4 percent of China’s Internet surfers are using mobile phones to go online, according to issued by the China Internet Network Information Center, a government-backed industry administrative body.

The total number of Chinese netizens was 632 million by the end of June, 527 million of who logged onto the World Wide Web through their smartphones, the report said.

It is the first time that the number of mobile Internet users has surpassed that of those surfing the Web in traditional ways, such as with personal computers and laptops, said Liu Bing, deputy director with the CINIC.

"In other words, the mobile phone can be regarded as the key terminal device for Chinese to get online,” he said.

The increasing number of smartphone owners has driven a rapid rise in e-commerce, instant messaging and entertainment applications, “which reflects a diverse demand of netizens”, he said.

Yin Jingxue, a mobile Internet analyst, confirmed that mobile devices have played the more important role in Web development in the country.

“Instant messaging applications such as Weibo and Wechat are still used the most among mobile Internet users, followed by online shopping apps, including Taobao and Jingdong,” Yin said.

She said she does not think that mobile devices will replace computers. “Instead, different Internet users will find their own channels to get online and the apps will be promoted in accordance with their various demands,” she said.

（中國日報網英語點津 Julie 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Anne Ruisi is an editor at China Daily online with more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper editor and reporter. She has worked at newspapers in the U.S., including The Birmingham News in Alabama and City Newspaper of Rochester, N.Y.