The Asia-Pacific internet audience - those aged 15 and older and accessing the internet at home and work - reached 319 million visitors in April, 14% higher than the 280 million registered in the same period last year.
This growth, driven mostly by India and China, outpaces all other regions in the world. According to a recent comScore report, the India internet market expanded 27% to more than 28 million users, while the China internet audience grew 14% to more than 102 million visitors. Taiwan, Malaysia and New Zealand likewise posted double-digit growth. The more developed internet markets, however, managed only single-digit expansions: Singapore with 4% and Japan with 3%.
The report also revealed that although internet users in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Australia spent the most time online in the region, they still spent less time than the global average.
While Google and Yahoo sites combined to capture the majority of search share in the region, five of the top 10 search properties were regional engines, including China's Baidu.com and Korea's NHN Corp. (Naver.com).