Computer Industry Almanac Inc.: Chinese Users to Outnumber US Users by 2010

The latest figures from Computer Industry Almanac show that by the end of this year, there will be 110 million online in the US and by 2002, that figure will be 165 million. According to the group, Japan will be home to 18 million users, the UK will have 14 million users, Canada will have 13 million and Germany will have just over 12 million users. Globally the group expect there to be 490 million users by 2002 and of that, US users will account for just under half. Reasons for the high US projections were; high penetration of PCs in the US, relatively cheap access rates, high population density and the proliferation of ecommerce sites based in the US. The authors of the report commented that Asian and European countries will close the gap with the US when new technology such as DSL and cable-modems enter the market. Internet users in countries such as China and India will outnumber those in the US by 2010 due to a combination of their high population density and their current investment in infrastructure.