WEB BRIEFINGS: China to catch up with Japan Web users

<p>China is expected to rival Japan as the Asian country with the most </p><p>Internet users, while the Asia-Pacific region will account for more than </p><p>a quarter of the world's online population by 2004, a report has </p><p>found. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Online researcher eMarketer found Japan's 36 per cent share of the </p><p>Internet population would fall to 18.5 per cent by 2004, as users in </p><p>China rise to 17.4 per cent of the total number of users in Asia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Asia's total Internet population, the report forecast, would jump from </p><p>49 million last year to 173 million by 2004, raising Asia's share of the </p><p>world's online population to 27 per cent. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>