New York - U.S. Internet users are now spending nearly half their time online viewing content, a 37% increase in share of time from four years ago, according to a report from the Online Publishers Association (OPA) and Nielsen/NetRatings.

Online communications, such as e-mail, accounted for 46% of consumers' time online during 2003, according to the OPA's monthly Internet Activity Index, which is conducted by Nielsen/NetRatings.

Consumers are now spending 47% of their time online with content, compared with 33% on communications, 15% on commerce, and 5% on search.

"The dominant role of content is driven by several important factors. The first is the online transition of traditionally offline activities, such as getting news, finding entertainment information or checking the weather," said OPA president Pam Horan.

"New online features and communities are also leading consumers to spend a larger share of their online time with content."

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