About 40 percent of Chinese citizens use the Internet, with the total Internet population reaching 538 million by June, when cell phones became the most frequently used device for going online in China, a recent report showed.

The mobile Internet population, totaling 388 million, outnumbered desktop users for the first time due to the rising popularity of smart phones and innovative mobile applications, according to a report released by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) Thursday.

While the number of Mobile Internet users increased by 32.7 million from the end of 2011, the percentage of people who use desktop computers has seen a 2.7 percentage point fall compared with the second half of 2011, said the report.

"Smart phones are getting cheaper, and we have plenty of mobile online applications to meet various needs, such as instant messengers and Weibo," said Zhao Chenchao, who works at a computer games company in Beijing.

The CNNIC report also revealed that 27.7 percent of mobile Internet users watch online videos with cell phones.

The Internet has facilitated people's life and work, affecting China's economy with all industries using the Internet as a major means for development, but it also raised government costs for social supervision and management, experts said.

"Information spreads faster via the Internet, for example on Weibo, where users post updates that could affect a lot of people. But at the same time the government is becoming more cautious, especially when major events spread online rapidly, during which rumors could arise," said Wei Wuhui, an Internet and new media expert with the Shanghai Jiaotong University.

China's Web users are far fewer than in other countries in terms of proportion, said Wei, noting that South Korea boasts 70 to 80 percent Web users while the US has half of its citizens surfing the Internet.

The number of Chinese Web users will keep increasing, he said, and mobile users will become the majority in one or two years.

Along with the benefits brought by the popularity of the Internet come risks, Wei warned.

"The CNNIC report overlooked the deteriorating Internet security issue in China. With more people using the Internet for financial purposes, the Web has attracted hackers and generated more online privacy infringement," he said.

Chinese you need:

Internet：英特网 (yīng tè wǎng)
Cell phone：手机 (shǒu jī)
Desktop：桌面 (zhuō miàn)
Innovative：创新的 (chuàng xīn de)
Application：应用 (yìng yòng)
Cheap：便宜 (pián yi)
Instant：即时的 (jí shí de)
Video：视频 (shì pín)
Development：发展 (fā zhǎn)
Update：更新 (gēng xīn)
Cautious：警惕的 (jǐng tì de)
Rumor：谣言 (yáo yán)
Proportion：比例 (bǐ lì)
Majority：大部分 (dà bù fen)
Overlook：忽视 (hū shì)