Tracking firm comScore has concluded that more than 122 million Europeans aged 15 and above use the internet each day at home, school or in work. The average European accesses the Internet 16.5 days in a month, and spends 24 hours viewing 2,662 web pages. The Netherlands has the highest net penetration, with 83% of the country online, while Russia has the lowest, at 11% of the population. More than 221 million people across the 16 countries surveyed are online each month, comScore said.
Germany had the largest online population, with 32.5 million net users aged 15 and above, the survey for net usage in May 2007 found. The UK had the most active online population, spending more than 34.4 hours online each month and a peak of more than 21.8 million people online in any given day. Google was the most popular online destination in 13 of the 16 countries, followed by Microsoft in second place and Yahoo in third. Internet penetration across Europe was 40% of the population aged 15 and above, with only Spain (39%), Italy (36%) and Russia (11%) falling below this level.
"Increased net usage is tied to broadband roll-out. The UK is an example of a country whose net usage has increased dramatically as broadband has reached more people. While the study reflects average net usage and penetration, 20% of users account for 60% of usage, with some people spending hundreds of hours online each month," said Bob Ivins, managing director of comScore Europe.