Third part of the world population to be online by 2013

The number of consumers surfing online is predicted to reach 2.2 billion by 2013 globally, says a new forecast from Forrester Research. This is a 45% increase from the current online population. China will lead the records followed by the US, India, Japan and Brazil, notes the research agency.

Among the countries that had the largest Internet penetration last year were the US, China, Japan, Brazil and Germany.

According to Zia Daniell Wigder, senior analyst at Forrester Research, marketers can benefit from the Asian markets as the data shows that Internet surfers in these regions will likely have significant spending power by 2013.

"Multinational organizations must understand the dynamics of the shifting global online population to ensure that they are positioned to take advantage of emerging international opportunities," she remarked.