Canadians Spend More Time Surfing

Canadian Web surfers spent nearly 30 more minutes online than US Internet users in May, averaging more sessions and page views despite the US having 10 times more active Internet users than Canada, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.

“Canada is among the leading countries in Internet penetration and with Canadian Internet users averaging more time online than US Web surfers, it’s clear that the Web is a vital medium for communication, entertainment, and commerce in Canada,” said David Tattle, President of Nielsen Media Research-Canada.

During the month of May 2000, MSN received top billing among all Web properties with a unique audience of more than 4.5 million. Yahoo was number two with a unique audience of nearly 4.3 million, and AOL Web sites rounded out the top three with a unique audience of more than 3.2 million.

MSN’s growth has been spearheaded by the development of key partnerships with Canadian retailers and by the phenomenal success of its free email service, Hotmail,” said Sean Kaldor, VP of E-Commerce at NetRatings. “MSN Hotmail, which is available in seven languages including English and French, is utilized by over 15 percent of the Canadian population and is the driving force behind MSN’s high usage rate.”

Nielsen//NetRatings derives its data from a research panel of 7,350 English-speaking Internet users in randomly selected Canadian households.