CYBERSPACE — According to a study, women are the majority online, making up more than 51-percent of the virtual population. eMarketer.com estimates that this total will increase by a slight amount– 0.2 percent by 2011.Estimates from other research sources agree that women represent the majority of US internet users, ranging from 53-percent (Arbitron and Edison Media Research, for females aged 12 and older) down to 50.6-percent (comScore Media Metrix, for females aged 2 and older).

The University of Southern California’s Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future reported that in 2006 the percentage of females who went online had, for the first time in the six years the center has conducted the survey, surpassed males.

Female usage has risen 12.4 percentage points since 2000, while male usage is up a mere 3.2 points. The drop in male usage between 2005 and 2006 is something that bears close attention from webmasters when designing their sites.

Not only do females make up the majority of internet users, but more of the female population goes online. This year, an estimated 66.2-percent of US females aged 3 and older will use the internet at least once a month, compared with 64.2-percent of males, according to eMarketer.com’s studies. By 2011, 72.1-percent of females are expected to go online versus 69.3-percent of males.

Researchers that surveyed only the adult population found that a greater percentage of males go online while the younger generations do the reverse. MORI Research, for example, reported that as of March-April 2006, 73-percent of adult females and 79-percent of adult males went online. The Pew Internet & American Life Project reported that as of February-April 2006, 71-percent of adult females went online, vs. 74-percent of adult males

eMarketer Senior Analyst Debra Aho Williamson believes that current trends will shape future Internet demographics and usage.

“For girls who have grown up with technology,” Williamson said in a statement, “there is no significant gender gap in internet usage, and the rise of activities that are particularly appealing to young females, such as social networking, will result in even greater usage.”