Nielsen//NetRatings Finds E-Mail is the Dominant Online Activity Worldwide

Hong Kong usage of Internet radio and looking at audio-visual content among the highest worldwide 531 Million People Now Have Internet Access

Sending and receiving e-mail was the dominant online activity in 12 countries over the past six months, according to the Nielsen//NetRatings First Quarter 2002 Global Internet Trends report, released today. Nielsen//NetRatings, the global standard in Internet media and market research, found that at least 75% of households with Internet access participated in e-mail.

"Of all the popular Internet applications, e-mail is the global activity of choice," said Peter Steyn, Director, Nielsen//NetRatings. "We found that an impressive 90% of the adults in three major markets - Australia, the UK and the Netherlands - used e-mail over the past six months, though the percentages were high for all 12 countries. In Hong Kong, 84% of adults 16+ have used e-mail".

"In contrast, involvement in chat rooms was lower than 30% in all countries except Brazil, where 41% of adult Internet users used chat rooms, and in Spain where 38% used chat rooms. In Hong Kong, 28% of adults have participated in chat rooms. Additionally, looking at audio-visual content and using Internet radio was well below 50% in all countries, and instant messaging has less than 30% penetration in several countries, including Hong Kong, France, Germany and Italy", said Steyn.

"The key to e-mail's popularity is two-fold: it's a cost-effective way to communicate across great distances, and it doesn't require the same high connection speeds as some of the other applications. In most countries in this report, a 56k modem or slower modem is the most popular tool to access the Internet. However, in Hong Kong, an astonishing 58% of those who responded and have Internet access use either a cable modem or high-speed telephone connection to access the Internet. Not surprisingly, their rates for using Internet radio and looking at audio-visual content were among the highest worldwide." (See Table 1)

Table 1. Internet Activities Over the Past Six Months: % of People Ages 16+

Country	Sent/Received e-mail	Participated in Chat Room	Used Instant Messaging	Looked at Audio-Visual Content	Used Radio via the Internet
Australia	90	23	30	40	20
UK	90	16	35	41	21
Netherlands	90	21	29	30	17
Denmark	89	20	13	27	23
Switzerland	89	21	24	22	13
Sweden	88	19	32	29	25
Hong Kong	84	28	26	34	38
Germany	83	25	18	24	18
Spain	82	38	43	32	23
France	80	27	26	27	20
Italy	79	20	16	25	19
Brazil	75	41	42	35	40

Among population 16+ who have used the Internet in the past six months
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings Global Internet Trends Q1 2002

Globally, the number of people with access to the Internet via a home PC increased from 498.2 million people in Q4 2001 to 531.3 million in Q1 2002.

The findings are from the Nielsen//NetRatings Global Internet Trends service, a quarterly subscription service reporting information on worldwide Internet access and usage trends drawn from surveys conducted in January 2002 using consistent research methodology. With the Q1 2002 reports, Nielsen//NetRatings has expanded the range of topics covered in the survey, now reporting on the top Internet Service Providers by country, speed of connection to the Internet and online activities such as email, chat, instant messaging and online radio usage.