Internet is entering every home and office all over the world with lightening speed. Driven by emerging markets, the population of global users of Internet is expected to touch the 1.8 billion mark by 2012. It will be a whopping growth of 44 per cent during 2007 to 2012, according to the findings of a leading research organization.

The report highlights that one quarter of global population will be the regular user of Internet. The rate of growth over the next 5 years will be in double digits.

Explaining about the online penetration levels in the emerging markets, the report goes on to add that it will reach US levels of year 2000, or at the minimum lag by five years behind the developed countries.

The research organization is more optimistic about emerging economies’ capabilities of learning and adopting sophisticated online activities compared to developing nations, in spite of lower penetration rates.

The report also points out that Russia, Brazil, China and India will register highest growth in the population of Internet users since their younger generation is more internet savvy than many other countries in the region. By the year 2011, China will become the biggest nation of the world with the highest number of internet users.