The Internet ratings report for the month of January 2001 from Nielsen//NetRatings reveals that Internet penetration has reached 60% in the U.S., with more than 168 million people having Web access
from either the home or the workplace in January.
"The Web is now an integral part of the average person's daily life," said Allen Weiner, VP of analytical services, NetRatings.
"People are
conducting a wide range of their day-to-day activities online, such as banking, tax filing, sending invitations, shopping and corresponding with friends and family," he said.
These numbers account
for the overlap of Web surfers who have access to the Internet from both work and home. Viewed separately, at-work Internet penetration accounted for 14% of all Web access or 41 million office
workers, while home Internet access comprised 58% or 162 million surfers.
These numbers show that Internet access continued to grow at a steady pace over the past few months, increasing 8% since
October 2000.