4% of Russians Are Regular Internet Users

The number of frequent users of the Russian section of the Internet rose last year, according to Russian Communications and Information Technology Minister Leonid Reiman. The minister was speaking today at an international congress entitled 'Trust and security in the information community'. Reiman said that about 4.2% of the population regularly uses the Internet and that there are around 15 million infrequent Internet users. He also said that there are 9 computers per 100 people in Russia.

The minister predicted that this year would see 20-40% growth in the number of Internet users. According to his figures, over 3 million fixed telephone lines were installed in Russia last year, which was 41% more than in 2001. The minister also said that the number of mobile phone subscribers rose 2.2 times to 18 million last year.