South Korea has been found to have over 30 million Internet users.

Following the nationwide commercialization of Internet services in 1994, the number of South Koreans online has grown from one million in 1997 to ten million in 1999, twenty million in 2001 and over thirty million in this year's first half.

The Information Ministry said Tuesday that domestic users who log onto the Internet more than once a month currently number 36.7 million, with an average user rate of about 68 percent among the entire populace.

A recent survey found that by age, more than 95 percent of those under 20 use the Internet, while 86 percent of 30 year-olds, 58 percent of 40 year-olds and 28 percent of 50 year-olds were Internet users.

By gender, more than 74 percent of Korean males were estimated to use the Internet, with 62 percent of their female counterparts estimated to be online users.