Research conducted for investment company IAC and advertising firm JWT has revealed that millions of young Chinese are embracing the digital world, with 42 per cent of those questioned feeling ‘addicted’ to the web. Despite the conversation in western society about how social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace are dominating young people’s lives, only 18 per cent of Americans felt the same.

The survey also showed that a startling proportion (61 per cent) of Chinese youth have a "parallel online life". Compared with American youths (13 per cent), the results suggest that while both groups have become dependent to some extent on the Internet, the results are much more apparent in China.

It is not just the time spent online which is more pronounced with Chinese youth than with the Americans, the attitude towards the Net is also contrasting. While many in the western world are still in debate as to whether online relationships are ‘real’, the Chinese have far fewer reservations. 82 per cent of the Chinese sample agreed that "interactivity helps create intimacy, even at a distance", and nearly two thirds (63 per cent) agreed that "it’s perfectly possible to have real relationships purely online with no face to face contact."

China’s growing online population is now estimated at 137m, second only to America’s 165m-210m. The "Young Digital Mavens" survey, which compared the online lives Americans Chinese aged between 16 and 25, also revealed that young Chinese of both genders are likely to find emotional stimulation and release online. 61 per cent of Chinese respondents admitted to feeling "strong emotions (e.g., anger, compassion) prompted by online interactions" compared to 47 per cent of Americans.

According to IAC’s chairman and CEO, Barry Diller, China’s online activity could have its advantages for Chinese businesses as well as those looking to push their products and services in the country.

"More activity online means a more connected and a more evolved workforce - just what China needs as it moves from being the workshop of the world to a developed economy in its own right," said Diller.

The survey followed plans revealed by IAC to spend $100 million on supporting its operations in China. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company is also looking to launch a version of Ask.com "within two years".

IAC’s plans to move into China follow the mixed results of Google and Yahoo!’s entry into China’s highly competitive internet search engine market which is dominated by local company Baidu.

"The Chinese people seem to be way ahead of Americans in living a digital life," said Diller. "Like many other areas in comparing Americans to the energy and progress elsewhere in the world, China’s speedy evolution in its use of the Internet is fast eclipsing that of the US. I think this is great for China, not so great for us."

While western society may have some catching up to do in terms of attitude to the Internet, western companies, such as IAC are well aware of the potential of the China as a business territory. However, Panlogic Ltd, a digital consultancy with a specialism on the Chinese market has warned that the survey barely scratches the surface of the attitudes of the Chinese population.

"Companies must understand the human-truth that explains why Chinese consumers behave in the way they do online. The report identifies some of these such as expression, experimentation, freedom, social development and engagement. Companies that re-enforce these attitudes will achieve empathy with the web users," said William Makower, Founder of Panlogic.

"This of course can be done either by the message or by the interaction online. An interesting development will be the ongoing development of social media (such as China’s MySpace, www.zhanzuo.com) since these sites encourage social engagement and new-found social liberties," he said.

Makower believes that the research should be encouraging for businesses because is shows the potential for reaching target audiences online. "Marketing in China online is therefore in many ways easier than in the West due to the relative novelty of the medium and the excitement that digital media provides."

Here are Makower’s five top tips for communicating to Chinese internet users:

1) Develop creative solutions that allow your user to display their individualism (this was discouraged by the previous governments)

2) Encourage "fame" by allowing users to share their engagements with the brand

3) Consider mobile applications that interact with web solutions. Mobiles are the medium of choice with 25% of the world’s mobiles.

4) Be careful about using sex to sell. It’s a taboo subject and one that can cause offence and therefore damage brand reputation.

5) Build databases of consumer knowledge - over time these will be the difference between leading and challenger brands.