MEDIA-I: Nielsen report finds more kids heading online

<p>HONG KONG: Children of school-going age now comprise up to a third </p><p>of the internet population in several Asian countries, according to </p><p>Nielsen//NetRatings, which said this group had the potential to form a </p><p>valuable core market for ecommerce activities. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The research company's quarterly Asia-Pacific internet trends report </p><p>showed a substantial shift in the demographics of internet usage. In </p><p>several Asian countries, school-aged children were spearheading growth </p><p>in the number of people accessing the web. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In Hong Kong, 21 per cent of surfers were aged 17 years or under at the </p><p>end of the second quarter of this year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In South Korea, school-aged children made up one-third of the surfing </p><p>population - an increase in unique audience of 13 per cent since the </p><p>first quarter. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Singapore and Taiwan also showed a high proportion of children surfing </p><p>at 26 per cent, followed by New Zealand. Australia showed the lowest </p><p>proportion of children in its surfing population of 19 per cent. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Hugh Bloch, managing director, North Asia for Nielsen//NetRatings, said: </p><p>"In future, this group of technology-savvy, heavy web users has the </p><p>potential to form a valuable core market for ecommerce activities". </p><p><BR><BR> </p>