Main uses

Internet use in the UK (Jan 2002)	Internet use worldwide (Nov 2002)
In January 2002 almost one in two homes in the UK had access to the internet, according to an article by the BBC. A total of 45% of homes are now online compared with 39% three months ago, said telecoms regulator Oftel on Tuesday. And more than four million UK homes now have unmetered internet access. But analysts predict that the price of access to the internet may rise in the year ahead. Most people surf the web using computers connected to the internet via phone lines rather than by digital television or mobiles. The low cost of unmetered access packages has allowed people to go online for hours. But it is feared that as smaller firms run out of cash or are bought out by bigger firms, prices may rise.	The number of people using the internet around the world is booming, despite the global economic troubles, with near 30% growth expected in 2002. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) predicts the number of users will reach 655 million this year, or one-tenth of the world's population, compared to 500 million in 2001. Online growth in 2001 Asia - 44% Africa - 43% Latin America - 33% Europe - 33% N. America - 10% The annual E-Commerce and Development Report estimates trade in goods and services over the Internet could reach $2.3bn (£1.46bn) this year, a 50% jump on last year, and could hit $3.9bn by the end of 2003. The reported is considered a key indicator of the development of e-commerce, which is notoriously difficult to quantify. About a third of new users were from developing countries in 2001 but the percentage of the population using the internet was still far higher in rich nations, the report said. Global use The US had the most users, with nearly 143 million people online, followed by China with some 56.6 million. In Britain access rose by 33% to nearly 40% of the population. Broken down by region, internet users in 2001 jumped 44% in Asia, 43% in Africa, 33% in Latin America, 33% in Europe and 10% in North America. Internet use has grown rapidly in India, with 25% growth last year, to one in 147 of the population. In North and sub-Saharan Africa, 6.7 million people were online last year, or one in every 118 people living on the continent, but excluding South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco and Tunisian, that figure fell to one in 440, UNCTAD said.