CAN you imagine a world without the Internet? It's amazing to think that just five years ago, most teenagers would not have used the Internet or even heard of it!

Now, China has more than 68 million Internet users, according to the China Internet Network Information Centre (中国互联网信息中心). This is the second highest number of users in the world after the United States.

Today, 44 per cent of Chinese "netizens (网民)" are teenagers. They spend about 13 hours every week online, said Qian Hulin, an Internet expert from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学院).

Popular with teens

The main reasons why teenagers surf the Web (网上冲浪) are to learn information, communicate with others and to have fun.

On the Internet, teenagers can find out almost anything. And surfing the Web can help students with their homework and widen their knowledge.

Li Dong, a teacher at No 41 Middle School in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, likes her students to use the Internet. "When we talk in class, students who surf the Net usually know more background information than others," she said.

In addition, people can use the Internet to write letters or stories and send emails. Many teens keep in touch with (保持联系)their friends online. You can also make new friends through ICQ (网络寻呼机). It is cheaper than phoning somebody far away and also much quicker.

Having fun on the Internet

Nearly one-third of young netizens surf the Internet for fun. They like to listen to music, watch films, and go to their favourite stars' websites (网站). Some of the most popular sites are Taiwanese singer Stefanie Sun's (www.yanzi.com.tw), and pop star Jay Chou's (www.jay-chou.net).

But can the Internet cause problems? Many teens spend too much time online. "Some of my students who used to do well at school are now failing exams," Li Dong said. "Why? Because now they spend all their time playing games online."