A recent Harris poll that nearly four in every five U.S. adults access the Internet at home, in the office or at other locations.

The 79 percent July-October figure compares with 77 percent in February-April 2006, 74 percent in February-April 2005, 66 percent in spring 2002, 64 percent in 2001 and 57 percent in spring 2000, poll producer Harris Interactive said. It is interesting to note that n 1995, 9 percent of adults reported they went online.

Harris would not give a margin of sampling error because it said such a characterization is misleading.

The most recent New Zealand stats I could find show that in the 12 months to the December 2006 quarter, 69.0 percent (2.2 million) of New Zealander’s used the Internet. Over 900,000 people made an online purchase, with those aged 25 to 44 years being the most likely to do so (38.9 percent).

It would be interesting to see what the New Zealand 2007 stats look like but I am sure they will show an increase similar to that seen in the US.