More cell phones than people in Sweden: Report

The United States is falling behind other advanced economies in its use of - and access to - telephone and Internet technology, according to a UN report published yesterday.

The US slipped six places to 17th on the UN telecommunications agency's ICT Development Index. It was leapfrogged by countries such as Japan (12), Germany (13) and New Zealand (16).

By 2007, more than 8 in 10 Americans had cell phone accounts compared with just under half the population in 2002, the International Telecommunication Union said in its report.