Mobile phone is the most common way to connect to the internet in China

A new report from China Internet Network Information Center (CINIC) found that mobile phones are now the most common way for people to connect to the internet in China.

For the first time, desktop computers are no longer the leading method for the country’s 538 million connected citizens to get online.

The CINIC report said over 50% of the year’s new internet users were from rural areas.

A fall in smartphone costs has been the key cause of growth, experts said.

“Mobile phones are a cheaper and more convenient way to access the internet for [residents in] China’s vast rural areas and for the enormous migrant population,” said the report from the state-linked CINIC.

Mobile internet users now number 388 million, up almost 10% since the start of the year.

“Mobile phone prices continued to drop,” the report said.

“The emergence of smartphones under 1,000 yuan [$157] sharply lowered the threshold for using the devices and encouraged average mobile phone users to become mobile web surfers.”

The total number of those online has risen 5% since the end of last year, many of whom are very active in cyberspace.

Over half of the connected population frequently use microblogging sites like Sina Weibo, a service similar to Twitter which is banned in the country.

The popularity of these services has prompted the government to force users to sign up using their real names.

Internet use in China has had a rocky history. The country has been on the end of sharp criticism from human rights groups for blocking large amounts of content from its citizens – a system which has been dubbed the Great Firewall of China.

Bill Dutton, professor of internet studies at the University of Oxford, said the trend followed similar growth in other parts of the world.

“We’re moving to what we call next-generation users,” he said.

“They’re likely to have three or four devices in their homes, therefore they’re able to integrate computing into their lives wherever they are.”

He added that the rapid adoption of mobile among the rural community was one of necessity over desire.

“There’s a wave of people coming online that would not otherwise be able to afford to be there.”