The Internet has been called many things over the years, but even its most vocal supporters and critics might have been surprised by the characterization put forward today by U.S. State Department official Alec Ross.

By Associated Press Published: Jul 19, 2012 at 9:51 AM PDT Last Updated: Jul 19, 2012 at 9:51 AM PDT BEIJING (AP) — China’s population of Internet users, already the world’s biggest, has risen to 538 million, driven by rapid growth in wireless Web surfing, an industry group said Thursday.The latest figure represents an 11 percent increase from a year earlier, according to the report by the China Internet Network Information Center. The government-sanctioned group said that raised the share of China’s population that uses the Internet to 39.9 percent.The number of people who go online from mobile phones and other wireless devices rose to 388 million, the group said. That was up 22 percent from a year earlier.China’s communist government encourages Internet use for business and education but tries to block access to material considered subversive or obscene