As of June 30, there were 122 million Chinese connected via broadband and another 40 million who regularly log on using dial-up or mobile phones, according to the report by the China Internet Network Information Center.

The number of Internet users is expected to grow to 200 million by the end of this year, second only to the 211 million Americans who used the web as of last month, the report said.

That means China should have the world's largest online population by the end of 2008, if not earlier, Wang Enhai, an official with the centre, was quoted as saying by the China Business News.

China has become one of the world's fastest-growing Internet markets in recent years as its booming economy has generated greater access to computers and the Web.

The country had 137 million people with access to the Internet at the end of 2006, according to official figures.