Some 429 million people have Net access in the world according to the latest Nielsen/NetRatings stats.

The figures showed that the US and Canada make up 41 per cent of the world's Net users although this North American domination is being eroded.

Europe, the Middle East and Africa accounts for 27 per cent, followed by Asia Pacific (20 per cent) and Latin America (4 per cent).

Germany and the UK continue to dominate the European scene with Germany, the UK, Italy and France accounting for two-thirds of European households with home Net access.

Richard Goosey, an analysts with AC Nielsen said: "In terms of penetration levels, just over a quarter of European households have Internet access via a home PC, compared to one third of the households in Asia Pacific and nearly half of American households.

"Don't expect this American domination to last long, though," he said.

"Compared to a year ago, significantly more households in Europe and Asia Pacific now have a PC in the home and a greater proportion of homes are making use of that PC to connect to the Internet.

"Over the next 12 months, another nine per cent of European households and 12 per cent of Asia Pacific households plan on acquiring Internet access," he said. ®