Over a Billion of Us

The Internet is growing at about 18 percent every year and now has one billion users, says Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox.

So who was the billionth person to go online? "Statistically, we’re likely talking about a 24-year-old woman in Shanghai," says Nielsen.

Meanwhile, " A second billion users will follow in the next ten years, bringing a dramatic change in worldwide usability needs," says Alertbox.

Most of the second billion will be in Asia, but, "The third billion will be harder, and might not be reached until 2040."

"According to Morgan Stanley estimates, 36 percent of Internet users are now in Asia and 24 percent are in Europe," says Nielsen. "Only 23 percent of users are in North America, where it all started in 1969 when two computers - one in Los Angeles, the other in Palo Alto - were networked together."