In a nation of a billion plus population, just 71 million people have ever used the internet. Only 20 million Indians use it everyday, according to a survey by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). The survey shows that 36 per cent of all web users are from small towns like Kolhapur, Thrissur and Panipat. The figure is comparatively more than metros. "We did the survey across 31 cities in the country, among 19,000 households, 68,000 individuals," said President, Internet and Mobile Association of India Dr Subho Ray.owever school and college students are the largest group of web users, young males too have a sizable chunk. Whereas women have a tiny presence. Cyber cafes are the favorite place to log in from, with free office internet coming a close second. While a quarter of all users log in from home, about 2 million Indians surf the web on their phones. "Factors like an increased popularity of smart phones and the imminent arrival of 3G networks means more people will access the web on their mobiles. By next year we expect the figures to double, " said Ray. Checking E-mail is India's favourite web activity. Downloading and social networking comes a close second. Finally, just 16 per cent of users get the news updates from the web.Source: ibnlive.in.com/news/36-pc-of-web-users-belong-to-rural-india/112772-3.html
