Spain to lead Western Euro internet growth

The increase will not be uniformly spread across all countries - Datamonitor predicts 85% growth in the Spanish market during 2000, three times the 28% growth expected for Sweden. By the end of 2000, 18% of Spanish households, and 40% of Swedish households will have internet access.

The growth of many European markets during 1999 was more closely linked to plummeting access costs, increased publicity and wider PC ownership than improved content, according to Datamonitor.

Analyst Chris Tant said: "The PC is the most versatile internet access device and also the most widespread. The demand for online content is therefore, in many ways, a demand for PC-based internet access that drives both internet and PC penetration rates."