China sees farmers as the "major driving force" for the future growth of its burgeoning internet industry as the net connection in rural areas grew by 71.6 per cent in the last three years outpacing the growth in urban areas by more than double.

Farmers will become a "major driving force" in the growth of China's Internet population, which is already the world's biggest with its number exceeding 420 million, a blue paper recently released by a publishing house said.

From 2007 to 2009, the number of Internet users in rural areas grew 71.6 per cent per annum, double the urban rate, which stood at 34.6 per cent, read a blue paper released by China's Social Sciences Academic Press (SSAP).

About 100 million people in rural areas had access to Internet as of 2009, and there was plenty of room for increases given Internet coverage in rural areas was considerably less than in urban areas, the paper said about future forecast of the growth of the internet in China.

It also said China's online game accounts went up to 265 million last year registering a 41.5 per cent year on year increase.

More Chinese are living a lifestyle in which the Internet has become a preferred channel for them to purchase goods, seek entertainment and acquire information, it said.

The number of China's online shoppers topped 108 million in 2009, rising 45.9 per cent from the previous year, it said.

The SSAP is a publishing institution under the leadership of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government think tank.