Access to the internet from a home PC and penetration of mobile telephones is significantly higher in the Asian markets of Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Korea than in the Pacific nations of Australia and New Zealand. But Aussies and Kiwis are far more likely to buy online than their Asian counterparts, according to the latest Global Internet Trends report by Nielsen//NetRatings.
The report, measuring 27 countries across the globe and drawn from more than 41,000 interviews conducted during the first quarter, also shows a total of 429 million people now have access to the web around the world.
The report shows the US and Canada still account for the largest proportion of the world's internet access (41%), but the Asia-Pacific is catching up fast with the region now accounting for one-fifth of global internet access.
"One third of all households in Asia-Pacific now have internet access via a home PC, compared with just over a quarter of European households and nearly half of American homes," says Hugh Bloch, managing director of ACNielsen eRatings.com, Hong Kong.
"We don't anticipate the US domination to last too much longer, though, as the other regions are expected to grow much more quickly. For instance, we expect another 12% of homes in Asia-Pacific to acquire internet access over the next 12 months, compared with a 9% increase in Europe and even lower growth in the US."
South Korea dominates Asia-Pacific in terms of the number of households with web access, accounting for 45% of the number of households with home-PC access in the region. Together, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia account for 86% of the total number of people with home PC internet access in the region.
In Asia-Pacific, internet access is more common from home than work. Even for those who do have internet access at work, they are more likely to access the internet at home than at their workplace.
"Generally, home access and use of the internet is more firmly entrenched in the four Asian countries of Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan than in the Pacific countries of Australia and New Zealand, where work based usage is more commonly observed," said Bloch.
The survey also shows that in the Asia-Pacific region, three in four households have a mobile phone, although penetration of mobile telephones among individuals is greater in Asia than in the Pacific. In Asia, about a quarter of homes with mobile telephones have at least three mobiles.
Hong Kong has the highest level of household and personal penetration of mobile telephones and has maintained that position over the past three quarters.
In Asia-Pacific, most homes have only one source of internet access, though in Hong Kong and Taiwan more than one in five homes have two or more sources.
Another key finding is that adults in New Zealand and Australia and are most likely to use the internet to seek information about products and services, with one in four adults in those countries using the internet as a source of information.
Purchasing online is also most common in New Zealand (12%), South Korea (11%), and Australia (10%) and which has shown an increase in e-commerce activity since the fourth quarter of 2000. Only a very small proportion of people in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore have bought goods or services online (4%, 4% and 7% respectively).