MUMBAI: Many people think that a regular Internet user is always glued to the computer screen refusing to socialise with others. Now here's a study that belies that belief. According to the findings made by the first World Internet Project report which focused on net browsing habits, a regular internet surfer is not a nerd but is inclined to shun television and actively socialise with friends.

The report presents an image of the average Netizen that contrasts with the stereotype of the loner who spends hours on the Internet and rarely engages with the real world.

The study further reveals that the typical Internet user is an avid reader of books and spends more time engaged in social activities than the non-user. Also, television viewing is down among some internet users by as much as five hours per week compared with net abstainers.

"Use of the Internet is reducing television viewing around the world while having little impact on positive aspects of social life," says University of California, Los Angeles' Centre for Communication Policy director Jeffrey Cole. It was under him that the project was organised.

"Most Internet users generally trust the information they find online," Cole says.

The findings are derived from surveys of Internet and non-Internet users in 14 countries: the United States, Britain, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Japan, Macao, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, China and Chile.

The study does support some long-established Internet usage trends, including that the wealthiest segments of the population are the most avid users, and that more men than women surf the web. But the figures vary widely by country.

For example, the gender gap is most pronounced in Italy and smallest in Taiwan. According to the study, 41.7 per cent of Italian men are online, compared to 21.5 per cent of Italian women. In Taiwan, the difference is 25.1 per cent for men and 23.5 per cent for women.

The digital divide, a phrase used to describe how poverty affects web use, appears to be tightening around the world, Cole says.

In seven of the 12 countries in the survey, more than 20 per cent of the poorest segment of the population uses the Internet.

The credibility of information published on the Internet also received a surprising boost.

Despite the existence of countless spoof websites and message boards that carry oddball political rants, more than half of Internet users surveyed said "most or all" of the information they find online is reliable and credible.

The report reveals that the most trusting users are in South Korea, while Swedes are the biggest sceptics about the veracity of web news.

Meanwhile the Chinese are among the most active net socialisers. According to the study, Chinese Internet users say they rely on the medium to interact with others who share their political interests, hobbies and faith.

"It's more than in any other country, and a significant figure for citizens of a nation in which religion is officially banned," the study said of Chinese users' willingness to discuss religion online with others.