The Hindu Business Line : Now, more people surf the Net for content

According to a report from the Internet And Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), 32 per cent active users of the Internet in India use it for sourcing information and research. Back in 2001, only 20 per cent used the Internet for searching information. E-mail as a killer application is on the downslide with only 46 per cent of subscribers using the Internet for e-mail, compared to 64 per cent in 2001.

"The glamour of chat seems to be fading away even amongst the college-going segment, with information search emerging as the second-most prominent reason for surfing Internet after e-mail. With new innovations coming in the content space in the recent years — especially in the form of online ticketing, Weblogs, product information and preview sites, the year 2006 has seen an impressive 32 per cent of the active Internet users having information as their primary application," said a press release from IAMAI. The growth in the number of users accessing Internet for entertainment has also been impressive, though its share continues to hover around the 8-10 per cent level.

The report, released in association with IMRB, is based on a primary survey conducted in early 2006 among 16,500 households covering 65,000 individuals across 26 major metros and small towns, with an additional coverage of 10,000 business and 250 cyber café owners. The survey also declared that in September 2006, there were 37 million Internet users, with 23 million active users who access the Internet at least once a month.