CReATION: Asia's online virgins take a virtual leap

<p>An impressive 42 per cent of Koreans over the age of 15 may have </p><p>been online in August, but most of the country's Web surfers were online </p><p>virgins, connected to the Internet for less than six months, according </p><p>to a recent survey by NetValue. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Singapore meanwhile continued to lead the region in the number of </p><p>Internet users at 46 per cent; Taiwan came in third at about 36 per </p><p>cent; and Hong Kong a low 29 per cent. Internet users in China's </p><p>Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai totalled 23 per cent. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The regional overview saw a male student under 35 as the most frequent </p><p>surfer on the Web. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The survey also found Asian Internet junkies preferred accessing the </p><p>'Net at home. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Meanwhile, a study of Internet usage by Neilsen//NetRatings found New </p><p>Zealanders and Australians more engrossed in browsing for products and </p><p>services than Singaporeans. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>They were also more likely to spend than Singaporeans as nearly 25 per </p><p>cent of adults aged 16 or above had browsed the 'Net for pricing or </p><p>other information on products and services. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>And, an estimated one in 10 Australians made purchases online. Compare </p><p>that with Singapore, where 14 per cent of Internet users surfed the Web </p><p>for products and a mere four per cent actually made a purchase. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The report further noted that across Japan, Australia, New Zealand and </p><p>Singapore, an estimated 37 million people aged two and above had access </p><p>to the Internet from a home PC during the second quarter of this </p><p>year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Among Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, the report discovered </p><p>Singaporeans the most mature in terms of Internet access, with a greater </p><p>proportion of the people having gained access during or before 1998. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In addition, most households in the region have only one source of </p><p>access to the Internet. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Multiple sources were more common in New Zealand, where nearly 25 per </p><p>cent of households had two or more devices that could connect to the </p><p>Web. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>