Wired world: The use of computers and the Internet gains popularity in HK, where more than two-thirds of all households have a PC.

Hong Kong now ranks among world cities with the highest PC and broadband penetration rates in the world. According to the Census & Statistics Department, more than two-thirds of all households - 67.5% - have personal computers, and 60% have Internet connections.

The figures represent significant increases over a year earlier, when just 62.1% of  households had a PC and only 52.5% had Internet.

The surveys show that PC usage is higher among young people, the better-educated and students.

Online government services are gaining popularity, too: 24.3% of people aged 15 and over now use the services, up from just 18.1% last year.

The population has also embraced online business services - so-called "e-business". About  93.6% of people aged 15 and over had used such services, up one percentage point over last year.

Users take 'slowly, slowly' approach to online purchasing services

Online purchasing has yet to catch on in Hong Kong: Only 7% of people aged 15 and over used the services, up slightly from the 4.9% recorded last year.

PC and Internet use in the business sector remained stable, although there was a drop in the business receipts from selling goods, services or information electronically. This may be due to the recent economic downturn, accompanied by the decline in GDP.

The poor economic climate may also have dampened business interest in purchasing new computer equipment. This in turn would have an impact on corporate use of PCs and the Internet.

Number of companies using Internet grow

The findings showed that 94.2% of large establishments, 87.7% of medium ones and 50% of smaller companies used PCs. The corresponding figures for last year were 94.6%, 76.6% and 50.7%.

There was an acros-the-board increase in the number of companies with Internet connections, though. About 85.1% of large establishments had them, up from 82.6% a year ago; 78.2% of medium firms had them, up from 66.1%; and 43% of smaller companies had them, up from 40.5%.

About 13.5% of the establishments had a Web page or Web site, representing a slight increase over 11.8% last year. Only 8.9% of them used it as a channel for online ordering of their products and services, though.

Efforts to promote IT application continue

This year also saw other e-commerce activities - such as ordering/purchase and receipt of goods, services or information through electronic means in the business sector - maintain a steady growth despite the economic downturn.

While the Government will continue to partner with IT bodies and non-governmental organisations to encourage different sectors of the community to use IT, efforts to help the industry, especially small and medium enterprises, will be made to explore the full potential and benefits of IT in advancing their business interests.

The Government is also actively pursing its e-government programme by providing 90% of the public services that are amenable to it online. This will help drive the adoption of e-commerce in the business sector.

For more details of the survey findings, click here.