BEIJING - The number of Internet users in the Chinese capital surpassed 11.6 million by the end of 2010, accounting for 66.1 percent of the city's total population of over 17 million, said an IT official Wednesday.

A total of 372,000 websites are based in Beijing, Jiang Guiping, deputy director with the Beijing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology (BMCEIT), said while briefing the media on the development of Beijing's IT industry.

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Among the Internet users, 7.8 million users access to the Internet via mobile phones, he said.

The level of Internet accessibility among Beijingers is much higher than the national average as by mid July, 420 million Chinese citizens, or 31.8 percent of the total population, had access to Internet, according to China Internet Network Information Center.

Beijing has been in the midst of great efforts in building the IT industry and providing high-quality digital service during the past five years in a bid to build a "Digital Beijing", Jiang said.

By the end of 2010, Beijing has completed construction of China's leading 3rd Generation (3G) telecommunication network and an information network with 20-megabyte broadband that covers the largest number of users.

Statistics from the BMCEIT show that Beijing has set up about 18,000 3G base stations and some 5,400 access points for wireless networks.