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We've all seen the impressive statistics that reveal theInternet is growing by leaps and bounds. But now that we know usageis widespread, exactly who is out there cruising the Internet andhow and why are they using it?

A recent survey conducted by Find/SVP, a research, advisory andbusiness intelligence firm located in New York City, reveals thatmore adults are online than ever before. Some 27.7 million U.S.adults are Internet users, comprising 31.3 percent of the totalonline community. Of these adults, 59 percent use the Net to sende-mail every day, up from 47 percent in 1995. The number of adultusers who surf the Web daily has also grown, from 36 percent in1995 to 49 percent this year.

Another significant finding of the survey shows a gradualshrinking of the gender imbalance that's existed in the onlineworld for years. Just two years ago, 70 percent of adult users weremen. But in the past year, 40 percent of those who began using theInternet were women.