BEIJING, Dec. 26 -- Entertainment is one of the biggest reasons people go online.

    A look at the top Internet searches in China for the year proves that the country's 103 million Internet users just want to have fun.

    Top 10 keyword searches on Baidu.com in 2005

    1. MP3

    2. "Super Girl" (Chao Ji Nu Sheng), the televised singing competition similar to "American Idol" was widely watched across the country

    3. "Fairy Tale," a pop song by a Malaysian singer

    4. QQ, the most popular online chatting software

    5. Li Yuchun, the winner of "Super Girl"

    6. "Dae Jang Geum" or "Jewel in the Palace," a South Korean TV series

    7. "The Myth," a movie starring Jackie Chan

    8. "San Jiang," an educational program for members of the Chinese Communist Party

    9. "Kill the God," an Internet novel

    10. O2jam or Jing Yuetuan, an online music game.

    Top news searches

    1. Shenzhou VI

    2. Bird flu

    3. Ba Jin, a legendary author who died in October

    4. Liu Xiang, the Shanghai native who won a gold medal in the 110m hurdles at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece

    The top searches show people crave information about popular things and want it before newspapers, magazines and TV can provide it.

    It also shows people are attracted to a growing amount of content that is only available online such as games, novels and Mp3.

    Hot topics in the Internet industry

    China published a guideline on news Websites in September to better regulate the sector and prevent false or distorted information from spreading online. Meanwhile, it also urged Websites to register for tightened regulation. For example, Intel China's Website was blocked last week due to a delay in registering.The online diary is the most welcomed Web 2.0 application. Big names like Sina, MSN, Blogcn, Hexun and Tianya have launched services in the country.

    By the end of November, a total of 36.82 million blog Websites have been established. Another 16 million have written blogs, meaning every blogger has 2.3 blog Websites on average, according to Baidu.

    In the initial stage, Web 2.0 firms needed capital from venture capital companies, like IDG and Softbank, which invested in Ctrip, Baidu and Alibaba.

    Some blog service providers and multimedia online magazine publishers have received funding ¡ª about US$10 million each ¡ªfrom VC firms.

¡¡¡¡Hot topics in telecommunications

    IPTV ¡ª Internet protocol television in the complete form. The service, representing the convergence of Internet, television and telecom networks, is expected to be adopted next year.

    UTStarcom and Siemens claimed they have kicked off trial IPTV services in Shanghai already.

    But questions remain, who has the right to stay in the sector: telecom operators or media groups?

    3G ¡ª Still the hottest topic. Every one says licenses will be issued next year. People said the same thing one year ago and nothing happened.

    Cun Cun Tong ¡ª Means fixed line phone coverage in every village in China. By the end of October, the network covered more than 96 percent of villages and the whole project will be finished by the end of this year. After that, more than 800 million peasants will be able to make a simple phone call.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)