37 percent of Internet users are from rural India

According to a survey conducted by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), 20 million Indians use Internet everyday. The survey also shows that 36 percent of all web users are from small towns like Kolhapur, Thrissur and Panipat, reports Jaimon Joseph from CNN-IBN.

"We did the survey across 31 cities in the country, among 19,000 households, 68,000 individuals," said President, Internet and Mobile Association of India Dr. Subho Ray. "While we are happy to note that people in the smaller towns are taking to internet seriously, for a deeper engagement we need to provide them the best innovations in the language of their choice, at an access cost that does not pinch and through a device that they have. Only then this engagement is going to be sustainable." However, the figure is comparatively more than metros. In a nation of a billion plus population, just 71 million people claimed to have used internet in 2009.

However, school and college students are the largest group of web users, young males too have a sizable chunk. Whereas women have a tiny presence. Cyber cafes are the favorite place to log in from, with free office internet coming a close second. While a quarter of all users log in from home, about two million Indians surf the web on their phones.

Checking e-mail is India's favourite web activity. Downloading and social networking comes a close second. Finally, just 16 percent of users get the news updates from the web.

"Factors like an increased popularity of smart phones and the imminent arrival of 3G networks means more people will access the web on their mobiles. By next year we expect the figures to double, "said Ray.