While this news is positive, government officials say it has bred one negative side effect: young people who can’t pull themselves away from their PCs.
Take Wang Yiming, for example. Wang claims he is addicted to the Internet and says he spends days without end online, often foregoing food and sleep in order to feed his hunger for content.
"A month or two after I started surfing the internet, I failed some of my school tests,” Wang told BBC News. "But I couldn't control my addiction. Friends were also telling me that I was on the Net too long, but I thought: 'It's my life, I can do what I want.' I became a real loner, was withdrawn, and wouldn't listen to anyone."
In an effort to “treat” victims such as Wang, the government recently opened a clinic dedicated to and specializing in the treatment of Internet addiction.
The facility currently houses 15 patients, all of who happen to be young men. Psychologists working at the clinic say this is the demographic most prone to compulsive Internet use. Patients undergo a two-week course involving medical treatment, psychological therapy and daily workouts.
"Every day in China, more than 20 million youngsters go online to play games and hit the chat rooms, and that means that Internet addiction among young people is becoming a major issue here,” says Dr. Tao Ran, director of the clinic.
To deal with what Tao deems an epidemic, the clinic will expand to more than 200 beds in 2006, and similar facilities are planned for other major cities.