26.03.2007

Brazil has 32.1 million Internet users, the most in South America, the government census bureau said Friday.

The average user is 28, has at least 10 years of schooling and a monthly income of 1,000 reals (U.S. $487, euro364), or about three times the minimum wage in this country of 185 million people, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, said.

The study, based on a 2005 survey, showed that half of Brazilian users access the Web from home and the rest from work, the IBGE said.

The largest group of users are teenagers -- nearly 40 percent of Internet users are between 15 and 17 years old.

A global study by www.budde.com.au/publications showed that Brazil is the 10th largest market in the world in terms of Internet user numbers and the undisputed leader in Latin America.