NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Asia Pacific Internet Market Set To Explode
High Penetration and Growing Mass Market
AUCKLAND, 11 February 2000: The latest Internet survey from ACNielsen eRatings.com confirms the explosive growth of
overall Internet usage throughout Asia Pacific, driven by high penetration in New Zealand, Australia and Singapore and
sheer volume in Japan.
Findings jointly released by ACNielsen and NetRatings showed the Japanese market has over 15 million surfers and a 13
percent penetration rate. This puts the combined Internet market for the top six Asia Pacific countries at over 24
million surfers in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.
New Zealand (34 percent), Australia (32 percent) and Singapore (29 percent) have exceptionally high penetration rates.
Hong Kong has 16 percent, Taiwan 14 percent and Japan 13 percent. In sheer market volume, however, Japan's 15 million
surfers easily outweigh the 9 million found in the other top six countries combined.
"Businesses and advertisers throughout Asia Pacific have always wanted to get a clear picture of the Internet user
market in Japan, a country of immense regional economic significance. We now have it and the numbers position Japan
comfortably among the leading Internet economies in the region," said Brian Milnes, Managing Director Asia Pacific
ACNielsen eRatings.com. "This information, coupled with recent data from the rest of the region, demonstrates its
growing commercial potential."
The findings also show just under half of the PCs in Japan are Internet capable. Besides, nearly 4 percent of households
have mobile phones that are Internet capable.
Consistent with regional trends, males are the dominant surfers, accounting for 63 percent of users. Up to a third of
surfers access the Internet both at and away from home.
The survey, conducted between November and December last year, is based on telephone interviews of almost 55,000
households selected by random digit dialing. The interviews identified surfers who have accessed the Internet at least
once in the preceding month.
Nielsen//NetRatings collects real time data as panelists use the Internet. It uses unique technology capable of
measuring both Internet usage and advertising to provide the most timely, accurate and comprehensive Internet usage data
and advertising information in the industry. Nielsen//NetRatings has been launched in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore,
Japan, the UK and Ireland.
The new service is a venture between ACNielsen, the global leader in delivering market research, information and
analysis to the consumer products and services industries, and NetRatings, the leading provider of Internet audience
measurement technology and analysis. Through the Nielsen//NetRatings service, ACNielsen and NetRatings are creating the
first global service for tracking audiences, advertising and user activity on the Internet in more than 30 countries
worldwide. By the end of 2001, plans are for the Nielsen//NetRatings service to provide measurement information on more
than 90 percent of the world's Internet users.
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