Western Europe tops Internet usage for first time
Internet usage in Western Europe has surpassed that of the USA for the first time according to the results of a survey. The survey, which was carried out by IDC, showed that there are more Internet users in Western Europe than in the USA. It also found that Western Europe had overtaken Japan in terms of e-commerce revenue, with only the USA ahead of it. Predictions for future user growth were also produced from the survey results. The compound annual growth rate predicted for Western Europe between 2000 and 2005 is 16 per cent, five per cent higher than for the USA. The worldwide increase in online spending in the period between 2000 and 2005 is expected to be 67 per cent, taking the total figure to five trillion euro.