“The popularity of the Internet in China has driven the explosive growth of profitable Web companies and made fortunes for some Chinese entrepreneurs despite government controls on what the public can see online. The number of mainland Internet users rose to 513 million in December, up 12 percent from a year earlier, the government-sanctioned China Internet Network Information Center said”. – AP Business Writer

Photo: Shi Yongxin, abbot of the Shaolin Temple, works on the computer April 8, 2005 in Dengfeng, Henan Province, China. (Photo by Cancan Chu/Getty Images)

A woman dressing the traditional clothes of a “cholita”, skates during a skate festival on September 30, 2020 in La Paz, Bolivia. According to the Johns Hopkins University Resource Center, Bolivia has over 130,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and more than 7,500 deceases. (Photo by Gaston Brito/Getty Images)

A young man wears a mask on the right side of his head as he stands on a bridge with the European Central Bank at left in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, October 29, 2020. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

A woman poses by “Leaf Spirit” by Simon Gudgeon at the FORM 24 show at Sculpture by the Lakes, on April 02, 2024 in Dorchester, England. The award-winning sculpture show runs from April 2 to June 1, with works by more than 35 leading contemporary sculptors exhibited throughout 26-acres of lakes, rivers, gardens, and woodlands as well as in the Gallery and The Retreat. FORM includes a series of talks and events to accompany the exhibition, including “Meet the Artist” Q&A sessions with exhibiting sculptors, workshops and demonstrations. (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)

A member of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) reacts as her mother (L) places a badge with stars on the uniform during the 34th batch assistant commandants pipping ceremony at the National Industrial Security Academy (NISA) in Hyderabad on October 29, 2021. (Photo by Noah Seelam/AFP Photo)

A Hindu devotee prepares for Annakut or Goverdhan puja at Naba Brindaban temple in Kolkata on November 14, 2023. Annakut or Govardhan Puja is a Hindu festival in which devotees prepare and offer a large variety of vegetarian food to Lord Krishna as a sign of gratitude for saving them from floods as per Hindu Mythology. (Photo by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Brazilian singer Larissa de Macedo Machado, better known by her stage name Anitta is seen outside Schiaparelli during Paris Fashion Week – Haute Couture Fall Winter 2022 2023 – Day One on July 04, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Spread Pictures/The Mega Agency)

This aerial image shows a gossan reservoir at the Riotinto mines in Minas de Riotinto, near of Huelva on September 30, 2022. Although the Rio Tinto Company began to exploit these mines in 1873, this mining site already supplied minerals to the ancient Greeks and Romans. (Photo by Jorge Guerrero/AFP Photo)