A recent survey by NetValue has found that while Asian consumers
are relative newcomers to the Internet, they are becoming increasingly
sophisticated online.
Instant messaging services and Internet relay chat were particularly
popular with Hong Kong users, with 63 per cent of home Internet users
sending at least one message in September.
Singapore and Taiwan had the heaviest email activity, with more than 44
emails either sent or recieved per Internet user in September.
Hong Kong and Korea spent an equally large amount of time on the Web -
12 days per user - with Singapore matching the US at 11 days. Internet
users in Taiwan spent 10 days during the same month.
Koreans visited more sites than any other Asian market at 84 websites
recorded per user. Hong Kong came in second at 60 sites.
Korea undoubtedly took the lead in usage of audio and video on the
'Net.
This could be attributed to the high broadband penetration in the
country at 38 per cent. It was 10 per cent in other Asian markets.
China's Internet users spent the least time surfing the Web at six hours
on average, but were on the same level as their counterparts in the UK
and France.
