Study: China is the largest blogger nation

The popularity of Internet diaries - so-called blogs - is growing rapidly. Especially in China, where there are said to be 34 million blogs according to a study by the Chinese Internet Information Center. That is around thirty times as many as four years ago. At the same time, bloggers in China have to contend with strict censorship. When sensitive political topics are addressed, Internet addresses are often blocked or made inaccessible. Or individual sensitive entries are deleted. Internet diaries are under the strict supervision of the government. However, the volume is almost impossible to control and many bloggers have already developed strategies. For example, Li Xinde, who is fighting against corruption, publishes his reports on 50 different websites at the same time. The most popular blog at the moment also comes from China: That of the young Chinese actress and director Xu Junglei. The blog has been clicked on 50 million times within a year and tops the Technorati rankings. And this despite the fact that Xu writes about mundane things such as meeting up with friends, swimming training or computer problems. The website of Beijing's party organ, the People's Daily, also has its own blogs, although these are nowhere near as popular.