Internet use in Perth tops East Coast cities

The number of adults that accessed the Internet in Perth is well ahead of the significantly larger cities of Sydney and Melbourne, and many American cities such as Los Angeles and Atlanta according to Senator Ian Campbell.

"The percentage of Australian adults living in cities and connected to the Internet compares with the top 20 US cities," said Senator Campbell following the release of Current State of Play - November 2000, an online publication by the National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE). (See www.australia.org.nz)

"About 48% of the population of Perth is connected to the Internet, while Canberra leads the US cities with 62% of the population online, compared to 61% for San Francisco.

"Perth is the ninth connected city behind Canberra, San Francisco, San Diego, Washington DC, Seattle, Portland, Darwin and Boston. Sydney and Melbourne ranked 13th and 15th respectively.'

Current State of Play also reports that the percentage of Australian households with a home computer was 54% in May 2000-up from 34% in May 1998, and those households with Internet access was 33%-a 135% increase from May 1998.

"The Internet is delivering a wide array of products and services to all Australians-regardless of where they live or conduct business,' said Senator Campbell.

The report notes at March 1999, 72% of farms had a computer and 18% were connected to the Internet. Leading farm sectors in the use of personal computers were cotton growing, plant nurseries and poultry farming, and in the use of the Internet were cotton growing, plant nurseries and livestock farming.

"Australian businesses and individuals are enjoying and leveraging the benefits of globalisation offered more readily by the Internet and the Information Age than ever before,' concluded Senator Campbell.

See www.australia.org.nz for more.

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