OSLO, NORWAY: Traffic to social networks comprise almost 40 percent of the mobile Web according to Opera Software's "State of the Mobile Web" report.

The results both show healthy growth in the numbers of consumers accessing the Web from their mobile devices and provide insight into aggregate consumer preferences when browsing from their phones. The report can be downloaded from Opera's site.

Select global highlights from the first quarter report:
 
* Social networking consumes almost 41 percent of traffic: The United States, South Africa and Indonesia have more than 60 percent of their traffic going to social networks.
* More than 11.9 million people used Opera Mini in March to browse 2.4 billion pages. Thus far, more than 44 million cumulative users have tried Opera Mini.
* Those 11.9 million people generate more than 33 million MB of data traffic for operators worldwide.
* One Web will triumph over WAP content: Full Web surfing comprises more than 77 percent of all traffic. WAP content still generates the remaining 23 percent of traffic. WAP percentages have declined somewhat as more consumers realize Opera Mini can access rich Web content.

Snapshot: India
India favors social networking, with nearly half (48.9 percent) of all traffic going to social networks. The top 10 sites in India are as follows:

www.orkut.com
www.google.com
in.m.yahoo.com
www.peperonity.com
gallery.mobile9.com
www.mocospace.com
www.160by2.com
www.mobango.com
www.itsmy.com
www.indianrail.gov.in

"The mobile Web is also the social Web," said Jon von Tetzchner, Chief Executive Officer, Opera Software. "With social networks dominating Opera Mini's traffic, it is clear that people use their mobile browser as yet another communication tool on their phone. I find it reassuring to see that there is decreasing distinction between the types of Web content people use on the mobile device - it really is one Web, with people using whichever device they choose to connect to that Web."

Data in the report is based on aggregate and anonymous statistics from Opera Mini servers. All percentages are based on a snapshot of the Top 100 sites for each region.
 
Beyond providing a snapshot of worldwide browsing trends, Opera's "State of the Mobile Web" highlights the browsing trends in the ten countries where Opera Mini is most popular: the United States, Russia, China, Indonesia, India, United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, South Africa and Ukraine. Subsequent reports will include updates for these countries as well as different regions around the world.