The lastest figures show that the number of Internet users in China is 200M, and the world's largest IM network, Tencent's QQ, has 270M registered users.

How is it that there are many more IM users than Internet users? A significant proportion of younger Chinese access the Internet from Internet cafes, and hold multiple accounts on QQ.

 For many Chinese, QQ is the Internet. While many non-technical American users learned to use and navigate the Internet using AOL, many Chinese learned to use the Internet with QQ. From its base in IM, Tencent has gone on to many other fields and is active in advertising, gaming, finance and other fields. In June 2004, Tencent listed successfully in Hong Kong.

 Recently, Plus8star, a Beijing-based consultancy has come out with an excellent report on the reasons for Tencent's success in China. This report is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how Tencent succeeded in China, and the many reasons non-Chinese companies have failed in the China market, even they had much more funding and backing than the local Chinese companies.

You can download a free version of the report "Inside QQ" from the <a href="http://www.plus8star.com/?p=99>here</a>.

For more China-related views, visit www.chinavortex.com.