Internet users doubled in 3 years

A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that the number of Internet users has doubled during the last three years. According to the study, the number of users of the Internet, particularly Facebook and Twitter, rose sharply from 310 million in 2008 to 568 million in 2009 and from 958 million in 2010 to 1.4 billion users in 2011. Facebook users shot up from just 100,000 in 2008 to 300 million in 2009, 500 million in 2010 and 750 million in 2011. Most of the users of Facebook were between 15 and 25 years old. The study says 17 per cent Internet users focus on social networking, 24 percent on casual gaming, 15 per cent on entertainment, eight per cent on fashion and life style, four per cent on fantasy games and two per cent on educational programmes. The study says Facebook’s revenues leapt from $52 million in 2006 to $150 million in 2007, $280 million in 2008, $775 million in 2009 and $ 2 billion in 2010. Google’s revenue rose from $10 billion in 2006 to $16 billion in 2007 and $22 billion in 2008, $23 billion in 2009 and $39 billion in 2010. The study said Internet companies earned record profits at a time when most industries and banks suffered big losses during the global financial crisis.