As of this summer, there were 420 million Chinese surfing the Net, which is almost 32 percent of the country's population, according to a June report from the China Internet Network Information Center. The Internet's phenomenal growth has excited many people - the figures represent almost a 400 percent growth in Internet use since 2005.

But Dominique Wolton, research director at France's National Center for Scientific Research and an expert on information and communication, cautions the Chinese against "interactive loneliness" and advocates more face-to-face communication in real life.

Wolton, an author who recently visited China, says e-mail, QQ, Skype, Twitter and other tools of the cyber community keep people sitting in front of a computer for long periods of time. Though the methods for Internet contact continue to expand, he says these are not real communication and can make people more isolated and lonely.