MUMBAI: The number of adults who are online at home, in the office, at school, library or other locations continues to grow at a steady rate.

In the past year, the number of online users has reached an estimated 172 million, a five per cent increase, according to the latest Harris Poll.

In research among 2,032 US adults surveyed by telephone in February and April 2006, Harris Interactive found that 77 per cent of adults are now online, up from 74 per cent in February/April 2005, 66 per cent in the spring of 2002, 64 per cent in 2001 and 57 per cent in spring of 2000.

When Harris Interactive first began to track Internet use in 1995, only nine per cent of adults reported they went online.

Internet access increases at home and at work

The proportion of adults who are now online at home has risen to 70 per cent, up from 66 per cent in 2005 and 55 per cent in the spring of 2002

The percentage of those online at work has not really changed (35 per cent now, 36 per cent in 2005) yet is still up from 30 per cent in the spring of 2002. Adults who are online at a location other than their home or work also remains steady at 22 per cent (21 per cent in 2005, 19 per cent in the spring of 2002)
The demographic profile of Internet users in the United States looks like the country as a whole

As Internet penetration rises, the demographic profile of Internet users continues to look more like that of the nation as a whole. The study indicates that that more young than older people, and more affluent than low-income people, are online.

However, eight percent of those online are now age 65 or over (compared to 16 per cent of all adults who are 65 or over), 39 per cent of those online (compared to 47 per cent of all adults) did not go to college and 14 per cent have incomes of less than $25,000 (compared to 19 per cent of all adults).