Comscore Publishes the First Comprehensive Review of Asia-Pacific Internet Usage

Region Accounts for One-Third of World’s Online Population with Country Internet Penetration Rates Ranging from 3 percent to 65 percent

Yahoo! Sites Are the Most Popular in the Region

Panel-Based Measurement Facilitates Comparisons Across Countries

Tokyo, Japan, July 9, 2007 – Comscore (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the first comprehensive review of Internet behavior covering 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The Comscore World Metrix study reveals that in May there were nearly 284 million people age 15 or older who accessed the Internet from either a home or work computer in the region. This represents 10 percent of the Asian-Pacific population 15 years of age and older. The average person in the Asia-Pacific region visited the Internet on 13.8 days in the month and spent 20.2 hours viewing 2,171 pages. This compares to the global averages of 17.1 usage days per month, 25.2 hours per month, and 2,519 pages per month, indicating that the Asia-Pacific region’s PC-based Internet usage is somewhat lower than the rest of the world.

The Comscore study compares activity across the 10 countries where Comscore reports on Internet usage with a consistent panel-based measurement ensuring harmonized cross country comparisons. Significant findings from the study include:

  • South Korea boasts the greatest rate of Internet usage, with 65 percent of its population using the Internet in May (home and work locations, age 15 or older), followed by Australia (62 percent), New Zealand (60 percent) and Hong Kong (59 percent). India has the lowest penetration at just 3 percent.
  • China clearly has the largest online population with 91.5 million people (age 15 or older accessing the Internet from either a home or a work computer in May 2007), but this translates to a penetration of only 9 percent of the country’s population. Japan has 53.7 million users (49 percent penetration) and South Korea 26.3 million (65 percent penetration). Combined, these 3 countries account for 60 percent of the region’s Internet population.
  • South Korea has the most active online population, using the Internet an average of 17.4 days per person in May, and dedicating 31.2 hours to viewing 4,546 pages during the month – twice as many pages as the regional average of 2,171 pages per user.
  • New Zealanders constitute the smallest online population in the region (1,949 million people) but are online 16.4 days per month, versus the regional average of 13.8 days.
Asia-Pacific Online Audience
May 2007
All Asia-Pacific - Home and Work Locations, Age 15+*
Source: ComscoreWorld Metrix
  Monthly Unique Users (000)* Internet
Penetration**
Average Daily Users (000)* Average Usage Days per User Average Monthly Hours per User Average Monthly Pages Viewed per User
Worldwide 771,997 16% 427,005 17.1 25.2 2,519
Asia-Pacific*** 283,519 10% 126,398 13.8 20.2 2,171
Australia 10,109 62% 5,147 15.8 21.2 1,758
China 91,527 9% 38,023 12.9 19.3 2,279
Hong Kong 3,550 59% 1,924 16.8 25.5 2,545
India 22,805 3% 8,415 11.4 14.7 1,400
Japan 53,682 49% 26,157 15.1 19.2 2,200
Malaysia 7,521 45% 2,362 9.7 15.2 1,239
New Zealand 1,949 60% 1,030 16.4 20.7 1,824
Singapore 2,226 58% 1,113 15.5 25.7 2,406
South Korea 26,278 65% 14,718 17.4 31.2 4,546
Taiwan 9,319 50% 4,814 16.0 27.4 2,659

*Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.**Estimated Users age 15+ active within 30 days from Home or Work computer as a percentage of total country population age 15+.
*** Total Asia-Pacific, including countries other than the 10 countries that Comscore provides individual country-level reporting.

Yahoo! Sites are the most popular in the region, ranking in the top three positions in seven of the ten countries studied.
 

Asia-Pacific Online Audience
May 2007
All Asia-Pacific - Home and Work Locations, Age 15+*
Source: Comscore World Metrix
  Top 3 Properties Based on Monthly Unique Visitors
1 2 3
Worldwide Google Sites Microsoft Sites Yahoo! Sites
Asia-Pacific* Yahoo! Sites Microsoft Sites Google Sites
Australia Microsoft Sites Google Sites Yahoo! Sites
China Microsoft Sites Baidu Sites TENCENT
Hong Kong Yahoo! Sites Microsoft Sites Google Sites
India Yahoo! Sites Google Sites Microsoft Sites
Japan Yahoo! Sites Microsoft Sites Google Sites
Malaysia Yahoo! Sites Google Sites Microsoft Sites
New Zealand Microsoft Sites Google Sites Fairfax Media
Singapore Yahoo! Sites Microsoft Sites Google Sites
South Korea NHN Corporation Lycos Sites Microsoft Sites
Taiwan Yahoo! Sites Microsoft Sites Google Sites

*Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
** Total Asia-Pacific, including countries other than the 10 countries that Comscore provides individual country-level reporting.

“We all know that the Asia-Pacific region is large and that Internet usage is growing rapidly. What is fascinating about this study is that it allows us to compare Internet usage across countries using a consistent measurement methodology and to then determine where PC-based Internet engagement is most developed. We are looking forward to providing additional insight into the online dynamics of this important region in the future,” commented Bob Ivins, executive vice president of Comscore.

About Comscore

Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given Comscore permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. Comscore panelists also participate in survey research that captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its proprietary technology, Comscore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. Comscore analysts apply this deep knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. Comscore services are used by more than 700 clients, including global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Verizon, ViaMichelin, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.

Press
Bill Daddi
Daddi Brand Communications
646-370-1341
press@comscore.com