A quarter million new Internet users joined Israel's online community in 2010, to 4.67 million Jewish and Arab users over the age of 13, according to the TIM survey for December 2010. The survey found that 82.5% of Jewish households have Internet access.

Social networks continue to gain ground in Israel. 76% of Internet users had a personal profile on at least one social network in December, up from 68% a year earlier. 60% of Internet users over the age of 50 has a social networkmouse hand computer profile, up from 47% in December 2009.

In a breakdown of the demographic profile of Israeli Jewish Internet users, Internet use increases in inverse proportion to age: 84% of people aged 18-29 use the Internet, compared with 48% of people over 65. That said, the growth rate of Internet users among the elderly rose sharply in 2010.

Internet use is higher among people with a university education: 87% compared with 76% among the general adult public.

Average time online among Jews in Israel is 3.3 hours per day. Internet users access the Internet from a variety of places. 98% surf from home and 52% of Internet users over 18 surf from work. Internet use from work is most prevalent among people aged 30-49, at 65%. 53% of teenage Internet users tend to surf with friends, and 56% surf from school.

The PC is the most popular platform to access the Internet; 88% of Internet users access the Internet from their PCs at least once a week. 48% access the Internet from laptops at least once a week, and 27% access the Internet from their mobile phones. Use of mobile platforms to access the Internet is especially prevalent among people aged 18-29.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com