BEIJING, March 29 -- China's internet sector registered steady growth in terms of business revenue and profits in the first two months of the year, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Major internet companies and related services companies saw their combined business revenue rise 7.6 percent year on year to a total of 246.3 billion yuan (about 34.71 billion U.S. dollars) in January and February, the data showed.

Their cumulative profits came in at 16.97 billion yuan, up 6.5 percent year on year.

Major internet companies and related services companies refer to those which have annual business revenues of at least 20 million yuan.