The 2007 ARD/ZDF Online Study found that 40.8 million Germans aged 14 or over had internet access.
Internet penetration rose from 6.5 percent in 1997 to 62.7 percent in 2007, adding 2.2 million users during the latest year. The representative survey questioned 1,820 adults in April 2007.
Women reached 57 percent penetration, up from 52.4 percent in 2006. Among people over 60, the rate increased from 20.3 to 25.1 percent.
The internet remained mainly an information source: 72 percent described their use as information-oriented, while 14 percent prioritised entertainment.
Online encyclopaedias had been used by 47 percent of internet users and video portals by 34 percent. Active contribution was much lower: six percent had edited Wikipedia, seven percent had uploaded a video and two percent had created an avatar in a virtual world.
The study identified news, consumer information and regional services as leading information categories and argued that public broadcasters needed to make material available across broadcast and online platforms.
