CYBERSPACE — Despite steady growth in the number of homes with internet access worldwide, one in five U.S. households remains unconnected and one-fifth of U.S. heads-of-household never have used email, according to two new reports from Nielsen Online and Parks Associates.Among the top 10 countries in home internet penetration, only Switzerland experienced negative growth during March 2008, according to Nielsen Online: The country’s population of “active internet users” declined by 0.51-percent between February and March 2008. Italy saw the biggest percentage increase in active home users at 6.12-percent, followed by the U.K. (4.59-percent), Australia (3.43-percent), Brazil (3.17-percent), Spain (3.16-percent), Germany (2.63-percent) and Japan (2.10-percent). France and the U.S. brought up the rear with 1.64-percent and 1.40-percent month-over-month growth, respectively.

Although the number of connected individuals in the U.S. continues to grow, 20 million households (or 18-percent of U.S. families) are without internet access of any kind, according to Parks Associates’ National Technology Scan. Moreover, just seven percent of the 20 million “disconnected” homes plans to subscribe to an internet service within the next 12 months.

Still, the study reports a steady decline in the number of disconnected households when comparing findings with previous years. National Technology Scan reported at year-end 2006 that 29-percent of all U.S. households (31 million homes) did not have Internet access, citing low perceived value of the internet.

Age and education are factors in the divide, the survey notes: One-half of those who have never used e-mail are over 65, and 56-percent had no schooling beyond high school.

“Nearly one out of three household heads has never used a computer to create a document,” observed Parks Associates Director of Research John Barrett. “These data underscore the significant digital divide between the connected majority and the homes in the unconnected minority that rarely, if ever, use a computer.

“Internet connections have slowly increased in U.S. households, but getting the disconnected minority online will continue to be difficult,” Barrett said. “Age and economics are important factors, but the heart of the challenge is deeper. Many people just don’t see a reason to use computers and do not associate technology with the needs and demands of their daily lives.”