A visitor (right) tries metaverse games at the 2021 International Digital Technology Exhibition and Tianyi Intelligent Ecological Expo in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Nov 11. (LI ZHIHAO / FOR CHINA DAILY)

The number of internet users in China has reached 1.05 billion as of June 2022, according to a report released by the China Internet Network Information Center on Tuesday.

With improved internet service infrastructures, the coverage of internet access in rural areas climbed to 58.8 percent, up 1.2 percent from last December

The number of short-video platform users increased most over the past six months, bringing the total to 962 million.

Those who use the internet to read news, livestream and enjoy medical services also saw a rapid growth, the report read.

As of June, the average time spent online per capita was 29.5 hours, up one hour from December last year, it read, adding that about 99.6 percent of the netizens surf the internet by mobile phone.

ALSO READ: China eyes real-identity registration for internet users

By June, China saw 33.8 million internet domain names registered and over 1.85 million 5G base stations deployed across the country.

With improved internet service infrastructures, the coverage of internet access in rural areas climbed to 58.8 percent, up 1.2 percent from last December, according to the report.

As of June, the size of short-form video service users gained the most notable growth and reached 962 million, up 28 million from last December. 

With Xinhua inputs