TAIPEI: Nearly 60 percent of Internet users in Taiwan have made online purchases this year - an increase of 10 percentage points over 2008, according to the results of an annual survey on the island's digital divide.

The survey conducted by the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (RDEC) found that 59.3 percent of people over the age of 12 in Taiwan who went online this year made Internet purchases.

However, due to the economic downturn, the average value of individuals' online purchases dropped to NT$9,816 ($304) from NT$13,565 in 2008, according to the survey results which were released Wednesday.

The poll also found that 88 percent of Internet users went online to search for information on daily life. That's up slightly from 86 percent the previous year.

In addition, 80.7 percent of Internet users searched for information on travel and gourmet food; 80.7 percent for news; and 68.6 percent researched product and pricing information before making purchases.

Some 75 percent of respondents engaged in online leisure and entertainment activities, 6.7 percentage points higher than last year; while 28.9 percent used online banking services, up from 26.1 percent last year.

There is an obvious gender divide in terms of online shopping, the poll indicated. Sixty-three percent of the online shoppers were women, while 55.1 percent were men.

The survey also found that about 10 percent of Internet users have sold products online, with 90 percent of them being part-time online sellers.

In terms of the profit generated from online auctions, 50.3 percent of the sellers said they earned less than NT$1,000 a month, 22.2 percent said their profits were between NT$1,001 and NT$5,000, and 4.2 percent said they made more than NT$5,000 a month.

The survey results also show that 43.8 percent of Internet users have their own blogs, up from 36.7 percent last year.

Nearly half of the younger respondents - 49.5 percent of the 21-30 age group - have their own blogs, compared to 44.4 percent last year.

Instant messaging and blogging remain a craze among the younger generation, with micro-blogging becoming a new, growing segment this year.

Some 81.7 percent of those in the 21-30 age group said they have MSN Instant Messenger accounts, 58 percent are members of Facebook, 13 percent are on Plurk and 4.6 percent have Twitter accounts.

According to 38 percent of the respondents, they spend time on Internet social networks primarily because they want to connect with friends quickly and economically; while 7 percent admitted that they suffer anxiety if they are away from the Internet for more than a day.

Among those who are on social networks, 40 percent said they have forwarded information about influenza A(H1N1), disaster prevention and important government information via MSN Instant Messenger, email and other services.

The RDEC said that the Internet is expected to become another excellent public information dissemination tool based on the fact that each Internet user has an average of 60 online friends in regular contact with them, with more than 80 percent of those being known acquaintances.

The survey was carried out between July 13 and August 21 among 16, 133 respondents via telephone. It had a margin of error of 0.8 percentage points.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 12/18/2009 page2)