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China takes place on world stage as a major consumer nation.

The appetite of the tiger economy is strong as shown in global polls from GMI

Seattle - April 11, 2005 - China is traditionally known for being the world's largest manufacturer of consumer goods, from washing machines and refrigerators to hi-fi's and televisions. But China is now emerging as a powerful consumer nation, with a hearty appetite for consumer gadgets as a series of polls from GMI, the online market research software company shows.

In comparison to western nations, in particular the U.S., very little is known about China, but the tiger economy is booming and with it, the purchasing power of the Chinese consumer.

High tech gadgets are particularly popular among the Chinese, with 75 per cent of people polled saying that they frequently updated their mobile phones, more so than any other gadgets, to keep up with emerging technology. In contrast, this figure fell to 47 per cent in America and as low as 38 per cent in France. The market for digital cameras is strong in China too with 60 per cent of respondents saying they planned to purchase one in the next 12 months.

Another indicator of China's increasingly disposable income can be seen through its consumers' positive reaction to advertising and marketing. A recent GMI Poll shows how Chinese consumers in particular were more influenced by advertising than other countries. Similarly, Chinese respondents reacted more positively to celebrity endorsement in brand promotion with 52 per cent of respondents saying they thought it made a product more valuable compared to as little as 17 per cent of Brits and 10 per cent of Germans.

"Our research shows that China is clearly emerging as an economic superpower. Its increasing appetite for consumer consumption is just one example of the impact that China is having on the international stage; just recently, for example, China announced that it is competing in the America's Cup for the first time in 2007. As the economy continues to grow, China is likely to emerge as a clear superpower and challenger to the United States." said Greg Ward, Director of Sales, GMI Europe.

About GMI Poll

GMI Poll quickly and accurately gathers international opinions about topical issues and critical global events, with real-time results available in as little as 24 hours. GMI Poll is the only survey that polls global opinions in real time, online, and with statistically accurate results.

About GMI

GMI (Global Market Insite, Inc.) is the only company that provides comprehensive integrated solutions for global market intelligence for both market research firms and corporate market research departments at Global 2000 companies. Solutions include Net-MR®, a suite of software tools to manage and automate research throughout the project lifecycle, desktop analysis tools, 24x7x365 service bureau capabilities, and one of the world’s largest, highly profiled, double opt-in managed panels, spanning across 200 countries. In addition, GMI offers high-value, real-time enterprise feedback solutions for customer, partner and employee programs. Founded in 1999 with world headquartersin Seattle, Wash., GMI has operations on five continents.