BEIJING--Chinese people on Sunday took their mourning over Monday's devastating earthquake to the Internet, leaving virtual flowers in an online memorial.

Leading websites offered links to the site, www.china5000.org.cn/flower/, which went online at 2:28 pm (0628 GMT), the exact moment that the 7.9-magnitude earthquake ravaged southwestern Sichuan province last Monday.

Web users can send "flowers" or offer condolences for one day, after which it will turn into a permanent online memorial, it said.

By 6:30 pm (1030 GMT), more than 34,500 people had offered virtual flowers, according to the site.

The Internet has played a central role in China's response to the massive earthquake, which officials estimate has killed 50,000 people.

Chinese have turned to the Web to search for survivors, post their experiences and offer to adopt children orphaned by the tragedy.

China's online population surpassed that of the United States this year to become the largest in the world, according to state media figures. About 221 million Chinese are "netizens," with the number of rural people going online more than doubling last year.