The Internet site Alibaba.com said retail sales on China's e-commerce sites reached nearly $32 billion in the first six months of 2010, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Retail sales on e-commerce sites more than tripled between 2007 and 2009, the report said. Taobao.com, China's largest online marketplace with more than 1 million e-shops, said many earn at least $300 per month.

That's a modest amount by many standards, but some sites are making owners wealthy, the report said.

He Hongwei, a college graduate in China's Zhejiang Province, started an e-commerce site 5 years ago. He began by selling novelty toys, and is now a billionaire busy seeking employees to work in his own factory, Xinhau said.

"I never thought I would make my fortune on the Internet, starting from scratch," He said.

Taobao.com lets potential customers see an "integrity rating" for shops it hosts.

"The Internet amplifies both integrity and dishonesty, said Shi Hongwei, a wholesaler of stockings at Taobao.com. "That's why we treasure our integrity rating, which is of make-or-break meaning for our online business."

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