Internet use reaching plateau

The report from research firm Nielsen//NetRatings, saw a global trend of minimal to flat growth in Internet users' time spent online at home.

Other mature Internet markets, including Brazil, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Sweden also saw slower growth in web usage.

However, the research firm founds that easier growth opportunities exist in several emerging Internet markets, including Australia, France, Hong Kong, Italy and Japan, which experienced double-digit increases in time spent online at-home.

Nielsen//NetRatings tracked the Web usage behavior of 12 countries worldwide, which accounts for more than 70% of the world's Internet usage.

Kaizad Gotla, senior Internet analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings, said: “There are many opportunities ahead for companies online, but if they just continue to do what they're doing today, they're only going to move sideways.

"Acquiring users in markets that are currently in their growth stages will lead to a loyal user base that will pay dividends for Internet companies in the future," Gotla added.

Americans spend on average nearly 14 hours online each month, which is close to the worldwide average.

Those living in Hong Kong surf the longest out of the 12 countries, averaging nearly 22 hours. On the lower end, Italians on average log eight hours online during the month.

**Internet use table**

Year-over-Year Growth in Time Spent Online, February 2005 (At-Home):

Time spent online per month shown in italics (*Hours:Minutes:Seconds*).

Year on year growth shown in brackets.

Hong Kong: *21:53:24* (25%)

France: *14:25:38* (19%)

Italy: *7:59:57* (15%)

Japan: *14:50:42* (12%)

Australia: *11:39:06* (10%)

UK: *11:20:34* (8%)

Sweden: *10:29:33* (8%)

Switzerland: *10:52:28* (7%)

Brazil: *13:13:58* (6%)

Spain: *11:36:56* (5%)

Germany: *12:31:22* (4%)

United States *13:44:04* (-2%)

Source: "Nielsen//NetRatings":http://www.nielsen-netratings.com