NEW YORK, NY, Jan 13, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- China's internet sector continues to grow at a staggering rate as the country's middle class continues to expand. According to Gao Xinmin, vice president of the Internet Society of China, microblogging, electronic commerce and mobile payment services all continued to maintain a high speed of growth last year.

The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) recently announced that China had 505 million Internet users at the end of the November 2011 -- a total that exceeds the entire populations of many countries, including the United States. In addition, Chinese internet users with broadband connection have reached 15,509,000 users, an increase of 18.6 percent since last year. Smartphone users have surpassed 340 million, representing roughly 65.5 percent of all internet users.

China's Internet penetration rate stood at 37.7 percent, up 3.4 percent over the end of 2010, CNNIC said in a report released late last month. CNNIC added that the number of microblog users exceeded 300 million by the end of November, jumping from 195 million at the end of June.

Last month the Beijing city government said it would tighten control over popular microblogs that have vexed authorities with their rapid dissemination of news, giving users three months to register with their real names or face legal consequences, Reuters reports.