BBC News Online: Business

US 'to lose internet dominance'

The US, where almost half households have internet connections, and Canada between them account for 41% of the world's 429m surfers.

In Asia, one third of homes are connected, and just over one quarter of European households boast internet access.

But in the next year a further 9% of European homes, and 12% of Asia Pacific homes, plan to get connected, research firm Nielsen//NetRatings said.

"Don't expect this American domination to last long," Nielsen//NetRatings said.

"Compared to a year ago, significantly more households in Europe and Asia Pacific now have a PC in the home and a greater proportion of homes are making use of that PC to connect to the internet."

Home use

In Europe, the Netherlands and Italy lead the home internet access table, researchers said.

One-in-every six Europeans used the internet in the first three months of the year to search for product pricing information, compared with a quarter of New Zealand and Australian adults.

But a reluctance amongst surfers in Europe and the Asia Pacific to use the internet at work could limit the spread of the net as a business tool, Monday's report said.

"Even for those who do have internet access at work, home is more likely to be the location of use of the internet.

"Use of the internet at work - or elsewhere - is not the cultural norm yet in [Europe and Asia], which could impact the growth of business-to-business commerce ventures in these regions."