Internet grows in post dot com era

The dot com era may have come and gone, and server farm and other related
Internet ventures may be languishing, but the use of the Internet continues to
grow in leaps and bounds in the United States according to a report issued by
the US Department of Commerce.

The number of Americans that are using the Web grew by 26 million between
August 2000 and September 2001. The total number of Americans with Internet
access now stands at 143 million or 54 per cent of the total US population.

In all, 174 million people, or 66 per cent of the population, used computers.
A whopping 90 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 17 now use
computers and virtually all access the Internet..

The report says Internet use has been growing fastest among lower income
Americans, 25 per cent annually in households earning less than $15,000 a year.
For the highest income US households, the growth was 11 per cent a year.

Broadband Internet access is also continuing to gain popularity with an 11
per cent penetration rate in 2001, up from 11 to 20 per cent among the 143
Internet users.