The number of internet users in China has reached 111 million, an increase of 17 million from a year ago, new statistics show.

The country boasts the world's second-largest population of web users after the US which has an estimated 145 million.

Statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) revealed that of the 111 million net users, about 65 million have broadband. This represents an increase of 50 per cent on last year.

Internet expenditure in China topped 100bn yuan in 2005, the CCNIC said.

China's net users spent an average of 15.9 hours a week online in 2005, up 20 per cent from a year ago.

China's economic boom is behind the dramatic rise as increasing personal wealth means more people are able to buy computers and go online.

Although it has welcomed the economic advantages of the internet, the web has caused some concerns for the Chinese Government which often attempts to block access to material it considers pornographic or politically subversive.

It has cracked down hard on internet cafes, closing down many, and has threatened to shut down websites and blogs that fail to register with regulators in a new campaign to tighten controls on what people can see online.

But web users continually breach the so-called Great Firewall of China while the authorities try to control access to information.

China is the world's most populous country with a total population of about 1.3 billion.