Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




INTERNET SPACE
China Internet users hit 564 million in 2012
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Jan 15, 2013


China's population of Internet users grew by 50.9 million people in 2012 to 564 million, official data showed Tuesday, with mobile devices the main means of online access.

The China Internet Network Information Center announced the figures on its website. The total population numbers 1.3 billion people.

The centre last year reported that the number of Internet users surged past the 500 million mark in 2011 for the first time.

Tuesday's figures showed that the number of people accessing the Internet via mobile devices in 2012 increased 18.1 percent to 420 million.

The use of micro-blogging services -- similar to Twitter -- also surged, the report said, with the total number of users increasing by 58.73 million to 309 million.

Internet use has steadily increased despite strict censorship via what is known as The Great Firewall -- the country's system of online limits and restrictions.

Online shoppers in the world's second largest economy, meanwhile, rose 24.8 percent to 242 million.

China e-trade tycoon Ma to resign as Alibaba CEO
Shanghai (AFP) Jan 15, 2013 - High-profile Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma will step down as CEO of online retail giant Alibaba in May, but remain executive chairman, the company said Tuesday.

In a letter sent to employees of the company he founded, Ma, 48, said he would step aside as chief executive on May 10 but retain his post as chairman to continue providing strategic direction.

"It's not because I wanted to take things easy... it's because I see that Alibaba's young people have better, more brilliant, dreams than mine, and they are more capable of building a future that belongs to them," Ma said in the letter posted Tuesday on Alibaba's Chinese microblog.

A source confirmed the details of the post to AFP.

Ma did not name a successor but said Alibaba Group would announce his replacement when he formally relinquished the CEO role.

"In the future, my responsibilities as chairman will focus on strategic issues under the guidance of our board of directors," he said.

"I will assist the CEO in the development of our culture and talent, as well as helping our team to strengthen our social responsibility efforts."

A spokeswoman for Alibaba, which is based in the eastern city of Hangzhou, said the company had no further comment. "His letter speaks for itself," she said.

In 1999, Ma convinced friends to fund him with $60,000 to start the Chinese online retailer after being knocked back by American venture capitalists, allowing him to build one of the world's biggest trading sites.

The company has made Ma one of China's most wealthy people. Forbes magazine's annual ranking of China's 400 richest put him at 11th with a fortune of $3.4 billion in 2012.

He sold a 43 percent stake in Alibaba to Yahoo! for $1 billion in 2005, but relations between the US Internet pioneer, which later struggled, and China's top e-commerce player were stormy.

In May last year, Yahoo! said it had agreed to sell its stake in Alibaba back to the company for more than $7.0 billion. Alibaba has since completed an initial repurchase of shares from Yahoo! and restructured its relationship.

Alibaba's businesses include Taobao, China's most popular online shopping destination, which had more than 800 million product listings and more than 500 million registered users as of June 2012, according to its website.

.


Related Links
Satellite-based Internet technologies






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








INTERNET SPACE
Anger at suicide of US Internet activist
Washington (AFP) Jan 13, 2013
The death of prominent Internet freedom fighter Aaron Swartz, who took his own life at the age of 26, weeks before he faced trial, sparked grief and anger Sunday from online rights advocates. "Aaron did more than almost anyone to make the Internet a thriving ecosystem for open knowledge, and to keep it that way," wrote Peter Eckersley from California-based activist group Electronic Frontier ... read more


INTERNET SPACE
Mission would drag asteroid to the moon

Russia designs manned lunar spacecraft

GRAIL Lunar Impact Site Named for Astronaut Sally Ride

NASA probes crash into the moon

INTERNET SPACE
Mars One announces requirements for Red Planet colonists

Opportunity Heading Toward Light-Toned Veins

Bacteria In Rio Tinto Could Be Like Those On Mars

Mars500 project - salt balance of the Mars 'astronauts'

INTERNET SPACE
AXE to Send 22 Guys to Space with New Apollo Campaign

IBM tops as tech titans scramble for US patents

Chinese tech firms pump up volume at CES

High fashion, high tech intersect at CES confab

INTERNET SPACE
Mr Xi in Space

China plans manned space launch in 2013: state media

China to launch manned spacecraft

Tiangong 1 Parked And Waiting As Shenzhou 10 Mission Prep Continues

INTERNET SPACE
Crew Wraps Up Robonaut Testing

Station Crew Ringing in New Year

Expedition 34 Ready to Ring in New Year

New ISS crew docked at Space Station

INTERNET SPACE
Roscosmos Releases Report On Proton Launch Anomaly

Russia plans replacement for Soyuz rocket

Arianespace's industry leadership will continue with 12 launcher family missions planned in 2013

Arianespace addresses The Insurance Institute of London

INTERNET SPACE
Earth-size planets common in galaxy

NASA's Hubble Reveals Rogue Planetary Orbit For Fomalhaut B

NASA, ESA Telescopes Find Evidence for Asteroid Belt Around Vega

Kepler Gets a Little Help From Its Friends

INTERNET SPACE
Study reveals ordinary glass's extraordinary properties

Bottom-up approach provides first characterization of pyroelectric nanomaterials

Chemical modules that mimic predator-prey and other behaviors

Government funding for 'super-material'




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement