China is now the world's largest internet market, after having overtaken the US in terms of web users, according to official figures.

The state-run China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) said more than 253 million people in the world’s most populous country are now online.

The figure is higher than the 223 million that the US garnered in June, according to Nielsen Online.

Moreover, net penetration in the US stands at 71 per cent compared to 19 per cent in China, suggesting the country will eventually outstrip the US on a massive scale.

While the numbers represent market opportunities, Asian advisory firm BDA said the quality of content, advertising and eCommerce is still superior in the US.

BDA chairman Duncan Clark noted that China already boasts the world’s largest mobile communications user base, with about 560 million subscribers.

"Now it adds Internet users to its gold medal collection," he told business technology magazine InformationWeek. "While the volume of communications users will continue to boom, the focus now in China will increasingly shift to deriving greater value from these consumers."