Men and women use the Internet very differently, according to a new study by PC Data.

Even on the Web, men are from Mars and women are from Venus. They log on for different reasons, surf differently, and buy different items, at least according to the results of a recent survey by PC Data Online. The survey measured Internet use among 2,812 participants. The survey included 146 more men than women, which PC Data says is representative of the U.S. Web population as a whole--currently estimated by PC Data to be 52 percent male and 48 percent female. Researchers found that women check e-mail more often and log on to seek out specific information more readily. Men are almost twice as likely to use the Web to download or transfer files. Men are also more inclined to seek out sports information, and they check stock quotes at a higher rate than women. Shopping, however, is done by both, but for very different items. Men buy computer items and pornography, whereas women buy greeting cards and music. Sean Wargo, Internet Analyst at PC Data Online, agrees that time online may affect Internet use.He indicates that the PC Data survey did take a look at time online and found that the women surveyed were newer to the Web than the men. In fact, 21 percent of the women had been on for less than one year, and only 10 percent had been on for more than five years. Only 12 percent of the men had less than one year of online experience, and 20 percent of the men had been on for more than five years. As for age, the women surveyed tended to fall into the 25-to-44 age bracket, while many of the men were only 12 to 17 years old. The PC Data study did not look at job responsibility, according to Wargo. Regardless of age and time online, Wargo likens some of the findings to the differences in the way men and women watch television. He stated that men tend to be channel surfers, where women are more likely to tune in to certain programs. When women go online, they tend to go on to search out a specific topic of interest and may follow links along those lines, whereas men may be all over the place. If PC Data were to conduct a similar survey a few years from now, analysts agree that the gender gap will have closed up some.