The number of people online globally is set to top 300 million by 2005, and will hit 250 million in just three years, according to research published by market analyst Datamonitor Plc. The report predicts the greatest growth will be seen in Asia and South America. The US currently accounts for 76% of internet users, Datamonitor claims, but this will fall to 61% by 2005, as the rest of the world gets online. The company also forecasts a 200% rise in the transfer of audio/video data over the internet by 2003, a rise from 2% to 6% of total traffic. This is expected to be spurred on by network bandwidth expansion.
ONLINE POPULATION SET TO HIT QUARTER BILLION BY 2002
