China had established more than 45,000 government Internet portals by the end of 2009 to publicize government information, said a white paper issued by the Information Office of the State Council Tuesday.

According to the paper, titled "The Internet in China", 75 central and state organs, 32 provincial governments and 333 prefectural governments and over 80 percent county-level governments had set up their websites, providing various online services to facilitate people's work and life.

"The building of e-government has substantially improved the work efficiency and transparency of government information," the paper said.

Governments at all levels are making every effort to improve the government spokesman system. By promptly releasing authoritative information through all kinds of media including the Internet, government spokesmen brief the public on the implementation of related policies, and on responses to natural disasters, and public health and social emergencies.

"The role of the Internet in satisfying people's right to know has become increasingly prominent," it said.

Furthermore, the Internet has become an indispensable tool in people's every-day life, the paper said.

Citing a sample survey, the paper said that in 2009 alone, about 230 million people in China gathered information using search engines, 240 million communicated through real-time telecommunications devices, 46 million received education with the help of the Internet, 35 million conducted securities trading on the Internet, 15 million sought jobs through the Internet, and 14 million arranged trips via the Internet.

"In China, more and more people are collecting information, enriching their knowledge, establishing businesses and realizing their aspirations, and communicating to know each other better through the Internet." the paper said.