English and French lexicon - 01/2001

Of the 12.3 million web users in Canada, just 2.8 million are Francophones.

According to Media Metrix Canada's report into home Internet use, the number of Anglophone Canadians online increased by 22 percent between May and October 2000, while the number of Francophones online rose by just 2 percent over the same period.

Media Metrix identified a number of differences in the way each group uses the Internet -Francophones use the web primarily to visit government, news, education, and business-related sites. In contrast, the top three site categories for Anglophones were health, auctions, and travel.

Other suggested factors affecting the rate of web use include the Internet connection standards in French-speaking areas of Canada, such as Quebec. While subscriptions to high-speed connections are increasing rapidly in Quebec, broadband is not widely available in the region.

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