Dear Catherine, You need survey data because other sources usually don't provide data by age group. Where did you look up to now ? Did you look at the website of the National Data Archive in your country ? For European data: whatever you like: - Eurobarometer - for running years, for now 25 countries - European Social Survey 2002/03 and recently 2004, now 22 (?) European countries and Israel But if you want to compare and get something comparable you should always look to 1/ the sampling frame: which parts of the population were excluded ? the sampling starts at which age ? it ends at which age? Is the institutional population included ? (usually not, but the military might be included) 2/ the results are given as % of population (individuals) or % households ? 3/ the results are weighted to neutralise sampling error ? 4/ the precise wording of the question: - place: use at home, at work, anywhere ? Is use at school , in cybercafés, in public cyberspaces integrated ? - purpose of use: private use, for the job, for job e-commerce, ... - access or use: Percentages will drop from "Does your household has internet access ?" to "Do you have internet access ?" a any time frame for the use given in the wording ? I love this one most. Does the questionnaire ask for "Do you use the Internet ?" or "Did you use the Internet in the last three months?" or "Did you use the Internet last week?" Depending on the precise wording the levels of a use can vary considerably. If you get data for Australia on % households with Internet access and for Austria on % private Internet use it gets difficult to compare results Tell us what you found. Cheers Frank Thomas Denise N. Rall wrote:

Dear Catherine -

I'm assuming you have already looked at Sonia Livingstone's data from the UK? - which I know is more qualitative and probably not too useful for your purposes. Also there's the OXIS survey from the Oxford Internet Institute. http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/?rq=oxis/index

PEW Internet in American Life project is the big US project that I am sure you are already aware of.

In Australia I don't know of any surveys - if they exist they would be cited in this book:

Goggin, G. (Ed.). 2004. Virtual Nation: The Internet in Australia. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press. * Part two History Where it began: Origins of the Internet in Australia Roger Clarke The Pegasus story: Getting Australia online Ian Peter Net acceleration: The rise and rise of the Internet in Australia Gerard Goggin * Part three Use @ home with the Internet: How families use the Internet Lelia Green, Donell Holloway & Robyn Quin

Cheers, Denise

.......................................... Dr. Frank Thomas FTR Internet Research 93110 Rosny-sous-Bois France -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.13.6/179 - Release Date: 23/11/2005