America heads for ubiquitous home net connectivity

As Americans learn to live with the internet, the US online population has surged past the 200 million mark and home access is closing on 100%. Nielsen//NetRatings reports that nearly 75% of Americans have access to the Internet from home, up from 66% in February 2003.

In just a handful of years, online access has managed to gain the type oftraction that took other mediums decades to achieve,' said Kenneth Cassar,director of strategic analysis, Nielsen//NetRatings.

Unlike the internet of old, where web usage was a pastime skewed towards a younger, academic, male audience the figures now show women use the web more than men, that the age group that uses it most is 35-54 and it is gaining significant traction as a life-management tool.

Nielsen//NetRatings reports that women represent a higher proportion ofWeb surfers, with 82% of women between the ages of 35-54 accessing the Internet at home.

'Women make the majority of purchases and household decisions, so it's no surprise that they are utilizing the Internet as a tool for daily living,' said Cassar.