• BBC News , Friday, November 28, 2008 10 AM

Mobile internet use in the United Kingdom is growing while the number of people going online via a PC is slowing, analyst firm Nielsen Online has found. Some 7.3 million people accessed the net via their mobile phones, during the second and third quarters of 2008. This is an increase of 25% compared to a growth of just 3% for the PC-based net audience -- now more than 35 million.

The survey also found that the mobile net audience was younger and searched for different things. While Google remains the most popular site for those logging on via the desktop in the U.K., on mobile internet BBC News is the most visited site, with nearly a quarter of mobile internet consumers using it. Other popular sites include BBC Weather and Sky Sports.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the mobile net audience is younger than its computer based counterpart. A quarter of the mobile net audience are ages 15-24, compared to 16% for the PC. While 23% of the desk-top based internet population is 55 or over, only 12% of mobile internet audience is.

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