Some 694 million people worldwide over age 15 are now using the Internet, about 14% of the total population in this age group, a new survey, quoted by AFP, said
The report by research firm comScore Networks claims to be 'the first true estimate of global online audience size and behavior' using consistent methodology.
The report said the estimate was based on a survey of major markets including China and India.
According to the report, the US still had the single largest Internet audience, of 152 million users, followed by China (72 million), Japan (52 million), Germany (32 million) and Britain (30 million).
In fifth place was South Korea (24.6 million) followed by France (23.9 million), Canada (19 million), Italy 16.8 million and India (16.7 million).
Rounding out the top 15 countries were Brazil (13.2 million), Spain (12.5 million), Netherlands (11 million), Russia (10.8 million) and Australia (9.7 million)
In terms on most time spent online, Israel led the list, with the average user spending 57.5 hours online during the month -- twice as much time compared to the average person in the United States.
Rounding out the top five in this category were Finland, South Korea, the Netherlands and Taiwan.