A Korean government poll released in late September found 77 percent of Koreans used the Web. Each spent 13.7 hours online on average on a weekly basis, The Korea Herald reported, according to an article posted on Asia Media.

About 35,360,000 Koreans used the Internet, up 0.8 percent from a year ago, according to the survey conducted by The Korea Communications Commission and the National Internet Development Agency of Korea. It surveyed 41,466 Koreans older than age three during June and July 2008, with a 0.47-percent margin of error.

The poll found that almost all of those in their teens, 20s and 30s surfed online, while 82 percent of children between three and nine did so. Among those in their 40s, 82 percent used the Internet, while 49 percent of people in their 50s did so.

According to the poll, online users were defined as people who went online in the past month, The Korea Herald reported.

It also found an online usage difference between educated and uneducated, and women and men, according to the article posted on Asia Media.

Ninety-seven percent of Korean university graduates surfed on the Web, while only 28 percent of those who graduated from elementary schools did so. About 82 percent of men use the Internet, compared to 71.5 percent of women.

Six out of 10 Korean online users read newspapers online, which indicated the Web played a crucial role in influencing public opinion in the country, according to the poll.

Fifty-eight percent used Cyworld's mini homepages or blogs, while 50 percent used online cafes or clubs. People in the 20s were the biggest users of online communities - 82 percent used blogs or mini homepages and 76 percent used Internet cafes or clubs, according to the article posted on Asia Media.

About 60 percent of all Korean Internet users shopped online, versus 87 percent of people in their 20s and 72 percent of those in 30s, according to The Korea Herald.

Forty-seven percent of online users visited price-comparison sites before making purchases. A similar number of people purchased online after comparing the prices in shops.

E-mail was quite common, used by 82.5 percent of Internet users. Instant messaging services were used by about half of the respondents in the past month, and used by 30 percent in the past week, The Korea Herald reported.