Sparked by falling Internet access tariffs, the free ISP trend
hitting the region and a ramp-up in Web activity by savvy old economy
companies, 'Net usage in Asia will skyrocket from the current 25.7
million users (excluding Japan) to 40 million by year-end.
IDC Asia/Pacific recently backed up its findings by stating that
ecommerce would also increase, with US$7.3 billion spent by
Asia's eshoppers during this time.
Within this hotpot of activity, China will emerge as the country with
the highest number of Internet users - pushing Australia into second
place, with South Korea and Taiwan following in close succession.
According to IDC's data, compound growth of Internet users between 1999
and 2004 will reach 41 per cent - bringing the numbers of Internet users
in the region to 141 million when 2004 strikes.
