China’s population of Internet users has now increased to 221 million, matching the US for the largest number of users online in the world. The Internet is having revolutionary effects on Chinese society, allowing greater openness to expression, presenting challenges to the Chinese government to control information, and posing the potential to improve the quality of life for Chinese citizens. While the Internet may be unlikely to "democratize" China, it is unquestionably modernizing Chinese culture and society, while providing radically new opportunities for Chinese citizens.

This special issue seeks to publish the best research addressing the impact of Internet use and new media technologies on China’s culture and society. We invite submissions from scholars documenting the scope and depth of these changes in an effort to better understand the Chinese information technology revolution and its consequences. We also seek submissions that consider these effects within the context of social theory and cultural criticism. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• How the Internet is used in China to find, present, and discuss new and other types of information about the world

• Chinese perceptions and attitudes about the Internet, the Web and new media

• The demographics of Internet adoption

• Internet and political communication in China

• Blogging, social networking, wikis, and other Web 2.0 phenomena in China

• Mobile, location-based services, and other emerging technologies in China

• Cross-cultural comparisons

• Cross-media use comparisons

• The history of the Internet in China

Inquiries to either editor about possible topics are welcome. Deadline for completed manuscripts is Monday, July 7, 2008. All submissions should be made electronically (.doc, .rtf or .pdf format), in English and emailed to Teresa Harrison (harrison@albany.edu). Manuscripts should conform to the specifications of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition.