The mobile phone, a luxury in China several years ago, is now a common sight in Chinese cities.

Surveys in 14 cities by marketing agencies, such as the Beijing-based Mainland Marketing Research Company, show that about 87.7 percent of the households had standard telephones by the end of 1999, and 34.8 percent had cell phones.

Statistics from the surveys in these cities, including Beijing, Harbin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an, and Lanzhou, also suggests that the Internet is becoming more popular, used by 6.5 percent ofthe families; and 3.9 percent of the families have their own fax machines as compared with 0.2 percent three years ago.

China's telecom market looks promising this year, with another 6.9 percent of the households planning to get Internet service, and 12.5 percent saying they are very likely to buy mobile phones.

In contrast, there has been a decrease in standard phone installment and pager purchases this year, with the figures dropping by 6.1 percent and 5.7 percent in 1999. (Xinhua)