By focusing on Internet application initiatives in four places in rural China, this study examines how the Internet is diffused and used in rural settings and what potential it has in helping rural people improve economic conditions and education. The results of this study show that the diffusion and usage of the Internet in rural areas are conditioned by the interplay of structural factors and individual differences. The change agencies have played a dominant role in introducing the Internet to the rural people. One of the major findings of this study is that Internet adoption and usage tend to be closely associated with local farming and business activities. The information needs, conditioned by the modes of production, influence farmers' information seeking behaviours, which in turn affect adoption inclination and intensive usage.