Digging around the deep, dark world of internet statistics - you know, just the usual kind of thing for a Tuesday afternoon - I came across some numbers for which languages are spoken by internet users.
Interesting, I thought: we hear a lot about the incredible growth of the web in China, but can figures for language help us gauge what impact that country is having on the way the web is growing as a whole?
And, on closer inspection, it made for thought-provoking reading. Late last year, according to the stats, the worldwide internet population stood at 812 million people. Last month it stood at 938 million: that's fast growth. But it's clear that with each passing day, the traditional grip that the English language has had on the web is sliding away.
If my figures are correct (the usual proviso) then since October 2004, the proportion of English speakers on the internet has dropped by three percentage points, to 32%. In the same period, the number of Chinese-speaking surfers increased by 18 million, or 17%, to 124 million: holding them steady at 13% of all internet users.
Most languages are just about holding their place - Japanese, Spanish, German, French, Korean and others are all relatively stable in percentage terms. But in sheer weight of numbers, nothing can outstrip the increase in Chinese.
And of course, in terms of potential growth, China again trumps the English-speaking world. More than a fifth of the world's population speak Chinese, whereas English is spoken by around 17% of the world's population. How much longer can the language of Shakespeare continue to punch above its weight?
Of course, it's not all bad news for Anglophones, of course. Some emerging markets are English-speaking - including, for example, India and some parts of Africa - which means that the decline will be slowed up. But the message is clear: the balance of power is shifting.
