BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- A broad survey of US Web usage has found that Internet users share many common interests, but men are interested in weather, news, stocks, sports and pornography while more women look for e-mail, religious information and support for health or personal problems.

    The survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project released on Thursday finds men are slightly more intense users of the Web. Men log on more frequently and spend more time online. More men also have access to quick broadband connections than women do.

    About two-thirds of the 6,403 adults surveyed by Pew during 2005 said they use the Internet. By gender, it was 68 per cent of the male respondents, and 66 per cent of the female participants -- a statistically insignificant difference given the study's margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2 per centage points.

    "Once you get past the commonalities, men tend to be attracted to online activities that are far more action-oriented, while women tend to value things involving relationships or human connections," said Deborah Fallows, a research fellow at Pew and author of the report.

    A larger number of men surf the Internet for pleasure, with 70 percent acknowledging they go online to pass time, compared with 63 percent of women. Men are more likely than women to listen to music, view Webcams and pay for digital content.

    But women are catching up in several areas measured by the survey, and intensive use by younger women suggests some of the gaps will continue to narrow.

    Tracy Kennedy, a University of Toronto and Brock University lecturer who specializes in Internet use in the home, said that beyond gender, a person's offline life produces "different expectations, different routines and different needs" when he or she goes online.

    "We can certainly assert the gender differences argument, but I think there's much more to it than that," Kennedy said. Enditem

    (Agencies)