India fastest growing in Internet usage
By ranjanp at 2 August, 2008, 2:32 pm
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- The average Indian Internet user visited the Internet 25 times during the month and was online for 28 minutes per visit.
- Those between the ages of 15-24 were the heaviest Internet users among all age segments, spending nearly 12 hours online per month on average.
- Some of the fastest growing Web site categories during the past year included Maps (up 64 percent), Sports (up 60 percent), Entertainment - Movies (up 55 percent), and Finance – News/Research (up 52 percent).
comScore, a widely regarded market research company for the digital world, has recently reported it’s first study of Internet usage in India. According to comScore, more than 28 million people in India, age 15 and older, accessed the Internet from home and work in May.
This is a 27-percent increase versus year ago, making India one of the fastest-growing Internet populations among the 37 individually-reported countries in the comScore World Metrix. Currently Internet users in India represent only 3 percent of the population.
“India truly represents one of the most promising emerging Internet markets, given both the size and technological sophistication of the population,” said Jack Flanagan, comScore executive vice president. “While global Internet brands like Google and Yahoo! currently reign as the most visited Web properties in India, several local players also have strong positions in the market.”
Google Sites Ranks as Top Web Property in India
Google Sites ranked as the top property in India with nearly 20 million visitors in May, a 35-percent increase versus year ago. The property grew on the strength of several Google-owned entities, including Google Search (up 38 percent to 17.1 million visitors), social networking site Orkut (up 39 percent to 9.3 million visitors), blog platform Blogger.com (up 102 percent to 7.3 million visitors), and video site YouTube (up 131 percent to 6.3 million visitors).
| Top 15 Web Properties in India Ranked by Unique Visitors May 2008 vs. May 2007 Total India - Age 15+, Home and Work Locations* Source: comScore World Metrix |
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| Properties | Total Unique Visitors (000) | ||
| May-07 | May-08 | % Change | |
| Total Internet : Total Audience | 22,805 | 28,886 | 27 |
| Google Sites | 14,597 | 19,746 | 35 |
| Yahoo! Sites | 14,664 | 18,704 | 28 |
| Microsoft Sites | 10,800 | 11,980 | 11 |
| Rediff.com India Ltd | 7,740 | 9,246 | 19 |
| AOL LLC | N/A | 6,325 | N/A |
| NIC.IN | 5,675 | 5,953 | 5 |
| Times Internet Limited | 5,002 | 5,948 | 19 |
| Wikipedia Sites | 4,353 | 5,264 | 21 |
| Naukri | 3,295 | 5,105 | 55 |
| eBay | 4,204 | 5,020 | 19 |
| Indian Railways | N/A | 4,454 | N/A |
| CNET Networks | 3,194 | 3,841 | 20 |
| Ask Network | 3,155 | 3,444 | 9 |
| BharatMatrimony.com Pvt Ltd. | 2,336 | 3,420 | 46 |
| Monster Worldwide | 2,854 | 3,301 | 16 |
Yahoo! Sites ranked second with 18.7 million visitors (up 28 percent), followed by Microsoft Sites with 12 million (up 11 percent). Indian portal Rediff.com ranked as the top local property with 9.2 million visitor (up 19 percent), followed by government site NIC.in with nearly 6 million visitors (up 5 percent). Sphere: Related Content
