Beijing -- Online games players are helping China overtake the United States as the world's largest nation of Web users.

An estimated 210 million Chinese used the Internet last year, just 5 million fewer users than in the United States, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.

More than 70 million Chinese started using the Internet last year, suggesting China will take a strong lead in Internet use in the coming months, the Telegraph said.

Nearly 40 million Chinese subscribe to Internet gaming services, the Telegraph reported, noting the government plans to more closely regulate the gaming industry because of fears it is addictive and encourages juvenile crime.

While the explosion in Internet use in China has weakened the government's tight grip on the release of information, the government also has an army of Internet police to ensure the most sensitive topics, such as opposition politics, are avoided, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.