'Podcasts' catching on

WASHINGTON: The home-brewed audio programs known as Podcasts" are catching on with people who own iPods or other digital-music players, according to a survey released on Sunday.

Twenty-nine percent of U.S. adults who own MP3 players like Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod say they have downloaded podcast programs from the Internet, the Pew Internet and American Life Project found.

That means more than 6 million people are listening to a form of communication that emerged only last year, according to the nonprofit group.

Podcasters create radio-like programs of commentary, music or humor, which are saved in MP3 audio format and posted online. Listeners are automatically notified when a new podcast is available.

Podcasts have grown in prominence along with Weblogs, the online diaries that serve as alternative news sources.

Nearly half of digital-music player owners younger than 29 years old have tried out podcasts, the survey found, compared with 20 percent of those 29 or older.

There were no differences between men and women, or broadband and dial-up users, the survey found.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project based its survey on telephone interviews with 208 digital-media player owners between Feb. 21 and March 21. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 7.5 percentage points.