According to Wang, Web 2.0 is more than just technology. He thinks it’s more likely to be a new pattern for using and developing technology in a highly connected world.

“Actually, Web 2.0 is an implementation of the idea of improving computer applications on the Internet. I think many new techniques will emerge and the old ones will be reformed and redesigned to be integrated for the next generation,” he said.

Wang pointed to BitTorrent, a file-sharing program that has become one of the most popular on the Internet, as an example.

“It was born to gather the resources of scattered PCs to improve the basic application of file downloading. In the old days, people searched contents providers for files they wanted to download, and resources were centralized. But now, more PCs are connected, which greatly raises the computation and storage capacity of individual users,” he explained.

Wang said the creation of an Internet in which people are more involved in the creation and dissemination of information could be the main significance of Web 2.0 in China.

“If the next generation arrives, there won’t be much difference [in technology] in China than in the United States. But for China, there might be a greater influence on the public, especially with the increasing number of Internet users, to create a stronger and more powerful voice from the public.”

However, according to Hu from the China Internet Society, Chinese companies are at a disadvantageous position in terms of global Internet competition, following their U.S. counterparts in technology without mastering the core competency.

“So the current situation with Web 2.0 is that, though we may highlight some localized innovations and applications, we are still lagging far behind,” he said, adding that other problems include a lack of innovation and strategic awareness in China that results in poor market strategy and inefficient information sharing.

Any hesitation on the part of investors may originate from a thin, overly simple profiting model and an unclear picture of market climate, Hu added.

“Possible problems and challenges, in a sense of both social and technical, have been found after making the report [on Web 2.0]. For example, most users could not accept the charging of a subscription fee for SNS service [social networking service, for dating or meeting friends], and some blogs maintained by individuals promote garbage information to the public,” Hu said.

In addition, intellectual property rights protection, scrutiny of content, the limited effects of advertisements and the cutthroat competitions among small Web 2.0 operators are all headaches.

However, regardless of these potential problems, the buzz around Web 2.0 continues.

As the head of a company leading the pack with its varied Web 2.0 applications, Google China’s President Kai-Fu Lee broke the silence on Web 2.0.

The competitive opportunity for startups is to fully embrace the potential of Web 2.0, said Lee. With users’ participation, surviving Web 2.0 companies will create intelligent network applications that learn from their users to set up a global connection, not just in the software interface, but also in the sharing of the database.