A survey conducted by the Data Center of the China Internet and the Internet Society of China has predicted that the total number of online gamers in the country will top 60 million this year.

Chinaview.cn reports that the news follows a year-long survey carried out by the two organisations, entitled Netguide 2008, which polled over 300 websites and 50,000 people.

The market value of Chinese online game reached $2.4 billion in 2007, up by a massive 57 per cent on the 2006 value.

The majority of the Chinese online games industry comprises free-to-play games, with revenues generated mostly from additional downloadable content such as extra in-game weapons or currency.