While the total number of Web users grew by 22.4 percent during the past year, the number of female users grew by 34.9 percent. Particularly strong growth was found among teenage girls. To me, the teen statistics were a real highlight of the study. If teens go online for social reasons, as women get older they appear to make more practical use of their time online, often logging on for information about health, childcare, vacations, and financial planning. The study also found that many consumer product sites, which provide information on a range of items from indigestion medicine to dog food, have disproportionate numbers of female users.
Many women are making the buying decisions for their households, the study suggests.
Across all adult age groups, the list of top women's websites looks a lot like the choices of the entire population. America Online's network of Web properties is the most popular destination among women over 18, followed by the Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc sites. The findings were based on a survey of 55,000 people in the United States. Send it . Use this version.