China’s internet users had reached ______ by the end of June. [originaltext]

The China Internet network information center said this week the nation online community is expanding at a rapid pace, with 8.9 million users added in the first half of the year from January to June. China’s Internet population hit 68 million by the end of June, the world’s second largest figure after the United States. The figure was 10 million at the end of 2000 and 1.5 million in 1997. Cyber Space is a force to be reckoned with in China, says Qin Hualing, a senior Internet analyst at the Chinese academy in sciences. Netizens between the age of 18 and 30 are the driving force. They spend 13 hours every week surfing Internet on average. Their major purpose is obtaining information or having fun. At the same time, only 0.2 percent listed online shopping, e-business, and online learning as their main activity. As the number of China’s Internet users grows, so does the junk mail. 8.3 emails out of 16 are junk mail on average.