MEDIA-I: Webstats - Korean net users top online usage

<p>When it comes to spending time online, Koreans continue to lead the </p><p>region with an average of 13.2 hours spent on the web each week, </p><p>according to findings by research company, NFO World Group - Hong </p><p>Kong. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Internet users in mainland China spent more time accessing the web for </p><p>news and entertainment information in comparison to users in other </p><p>countries. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Surfers in mainland China also spent more time chatting online than </p><p>their counterparts in regional countries. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Meanwhile, Korean and Taiwanese net users preferred to search for </p><p>information while on the web. In comparison, users in China spent the </p><p>least amount of time searching online. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Not surprisingly, regional internet users spent most of their time </p><p>online accessing email accounts, with internet users in Malaysia leading </p><p>the region. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In Singapore, web users spent almost an equal amount of time on news, </p><p>entertainment and chat sites. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, according to the report, Singaporeans spent more than half of </p><p>their time online searching for information on the web. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>REGIONAL INTERNET USAGE PATTERNS </p><p> Hong Kong Singapore China* Taiwan Malaysia Korea </p><p> (Jan-Mar) (Dec-Feb) (Jan-Mar) (Dec-Feb) (Sep,Dec) (Sep) </p><p> N=776 N=556 N=357 N=568 N=496 N=406 </p><p>Claimed average 9.3 9.3 11.1 10.6 8.8 13.2 </p><p>internet time </p><p>in a week (hrs) </p><p>Purpose of visit: % % % % % % </p><p>Email 70 88 86 83 93 80 </p><p>News 56 49 79 59 50 26 </p><p>Entertainment 54 44 74 47 44 36 </p><p>Chat 36 40 69 32 44 29 </p><p>Search for 38 62 27 79 61 81 </p><p>information </p><p>* The China sample was drawn from households in Shanghai, Beijing and </p><p>Guangzhou </p><p><BR><BR> </p>