CHINA’s online population, already the world’s largest, hit 486 million users at the end of June — up 6.1 percent from the end of 2010, a government-linked industry body said Tuesday.

The survey released by the China Internet Network Information Center shows an increase of 28 million Web users since December.

It means that more than a third of China’s 1.3 billion population is online.

The number of people surfing the Web on mobile phones reached 318 million, up by 14.94 million from six months ago, it added.

The Internet has also become an increasingly popular marketplace.

The number of users shopping online rose 7.6 percent from the end of last year to 172.66 million. (SD-Agencies)