BEIJING - Chinese experts on Thursday warned of increasing loopholes in online safety as new technologies and applications pose fresh challenges to information security.

The adoption of technologies such as cloud computing, social networking and mobile computing devices has increased the level of risk that telecommunications operators face, said Xiong Sihao, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

A total of 6,249 mobile malicious software, or malware, were identified in 2011, more than double previous year's figure, according to a report by the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China.

Shen Changxiang, an academician from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, called for the establishment of a comprehensive Internet security system for better information protection.

By the end of 2011, China's Internet population had exceeded 500 million. By 2015, the nation will add nearly 200 million Internet users, bringing the Internet population to more than 700 million -- almost double the combined number of Internet users in Japan and the United States, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group.