China as a leading internet user

An Internet cafe in Beijing. The Net is used mostly for entertainment in China, the top online market.
SHANGHAI — Even before Google began threatening to shut down its search service in China, it was not fitting in.At an Internet cafe like this one in Beijing, Web users under age 30 are commonly found.Google and other major American Internet companies like Yahoo and eBay failed to gain significant traction in the Chinese market. And Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are blocked by the government. If the Chinese government continues to favor domestic companies, those companies that reach critical mass could become phenomenally profitable,” said Gary Rieschel, founder of Qiming Ventures, an American venture capital firm with investments in China. “But it may be hard for those companies to become world class without outside competition.”