BEIJING - China, which has the world's largest Internet user population, plans to boost the development of its Internet sector in four areas and make it an impetus in transforming economic growth mode and in optimizing industrial structure, a senior official said Tuesday.

The four areas are promoting Internet infrastructure construction, encouraging technology progress and application, accelerating Internet application in other industries, as well as intensifying information and Internet security management, said Miao Wei, Minister of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), at the 2011 China Internet Conference.

The conference, with a theme of "Connecting China - Responsibility and Vitality," is scheduled to run from Tuesday to Thursday in Beijing.

Miao said the country aims to build a safe and reliable network infrastructure based on the development of various technologies, including broadband and IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6).

He said efforts will also go to developing the next generation Internet, the Internet of Things and cloud computing.

According to MIIT statistics, at the end of June, China had 485 million Internet users, with the penetration rate standing at 36.2 percent.