Europeans swimming in the shallows rather than surfing the World Wide Web
Today Microsoft unveils www.exploreabitmore.com, an interactive guide to the best the Web has to offer, allowing European Internet users to discover new destinations faster, easier and safer with Internet Explorer® 8
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London, UK, 15 May 2009
Imagine never leaving the familiarity of your own street, you’d miss out on everything the world has to offer. This is exactly what some Europeans are doing in their online lives.
New consumer trends from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer group, released today in conjunction with the launch of Internet Explorer 8, reveals that a typical European Internet user (65% of those polled) visit only up to six websites during a typical Internet session – leaving a colossal 99.9% of the 231,510,169* websites the Web has to offer unexplored.
Who knows what life enhancing things people are missing out on by not exploring the Web more fully, be it social media phenomena like Twitter or the latest way to share and enjoy music through sites like Spotify, the options are endless.
Offering new and intuitive ways to get to where you want to go on the Web, and making the things you do every day even easier, faster and safer, Internet Explorer 8 can help get people out into the wild blue yonder of the Internet more efficiently than ever.
John Mangelaars, Vice President Microsoft Consumer and Online EMEA, commented: “Despite the wealth of information and benefits offered by the Internet today, we are still clinging to the familiar. Fearful of security threats and exposure to viruses, and perplexed by the vast choice offered by the online world, these factors are hampering our ability to connect with the best of the Web and explore it to its full potential”.
“This is precisely why we developed Internet Explorer 8 to be safer, faster, and more efficient to use than ever before, and to act as our guide through the sometimes overwhelming amount of information available on the Web. By taking away some of the barriers, helping you to quickly perform your everyday browsing tasks without having to navigate to other websites to get things done, and by offering relevant suggestions as you type words into the search box to help save time, we’re encouraging Europe to go out, explore and discover the gems that the Internet has to offer”.
Favouring Favourites
Europeans are merely scratching the surface of the Internet’s potential. Three quarters (74%) of those surveyed claim that for every 10 websites they visit, up to only 3 are sites they are discovering for the first time.
The study also reveals that the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Finland and Norway are the most timid Internet Explorers. Around a third of Danes (35%), Fins (35%) and Norwegians (32%) only explore one new website for every 10 visited. The Swiss and Belgians, however, are relative pioneers online, with one in 10 Internet users visiting a 50/50 mix of favourite and new websites.
Professor Dame Wendy Hall, Co-founder of Web Science Research Initiative, commented: "It's easy for regularly connected individuals to get into the habit of flicking through the sites that they have learned to trust and become stuck in a bit of a rut. The concerns around safety are valid, but it could be that people are just lazy or too busy to be very adventurous when it comes to looking at different websites - we are very much creatures of habit after all. It is important that the next generation of browsers offers more support to enable users to confidently explore the wealth of information and exciting applications on the ever evolving Web".
Continual Connection vs. Dwindling Discovery
Another key trend points to the fact that though Europeans may not be venturing far, they are connecting in greater numbers than ever. The majority are continually connected to the Internet: a huge 80% are either always connected or use the Internet more than twice a day.
Portugal and Italy emerge as clear front runners. Three quarters of Portuguese (76%) and Italian (73%) Internet users are constantly connected to the web.
Furthermore, time spent on the Internet is on the increase. Almost half (45%) of European Internet users spend 30 minutes to 2 hours during a typical Internet session and a significant 39% spend between 7-15 hours online per week.
Ultimately, concerns such as increased security threats, exposure to viruses, the amount of time it takes to run searches and a lack of knowledge of the best websites to visit are cited as reasons for limited online exploration – indeed, half of those polled seek recommendations, either via a friend, magazine or a central resource, before exploring new websites.
Internet Explorer 8 and exploreabitmore.com
Internet Explorer 8 has been designed to make it the best browser for the way people really use the Web today, making everyday tasks faster and easier. It offers new features and functionality that make it easier to visit sites you’ve been to before with the new Smart Address Bar and Web Slices, works with your search provider to enhance your exploration of the Internet by suggesting likely searches based on what you type into the Enhanced Instant Search Box, and gives you Accelerators to cut down on the number of clicks involved in many common tasks, such as copying and pasting a website address into a new window, reduced from 7 to 2 clicks.
To celebrate the launch of Internet Explorer 8 and encourage European’s Internet users to explore a bit more, Microsoft today unveils the website www.exploreabitmore.com. An interactive atlas of the best the Web has to offer, exploreabitmore.com features news & information, social media, entertainment, shopping, travel, sport, gambling, celebrity, fashion, gadgets & technology and gaming ‘continents’ that provide suggestions of great websites to ease you out of your online comfort zone - a must have on all ‘favourites’ lists.
Online Hot Spots
Today’s survey reveals that European Internet users are not only highly connected but also highly social and use the Internet to connect with friends and family as well as gain access to news and information.
Over a fifth regularly browse news portals with a further 17% engaging with friends and family through social media websites, clearly topping the list of the most visited websites.
There is evidence here that people would like to explore more, keeping their finger on the pulse by making short, exploratory excursions around the Internet and various online areas of interest. So what type of sites combine to make up the average online session?
When asked how much time they spent on news & information, social media, entertainment, shopping, travel, sport, gambling, celebrity, fashion, gadgets & technology and gaming each week, the majority of Europeans spend on average 30 minutes per week exploring each area of interest.
| Position | Sites regularly visited | % | Sites explored per week | % exploring |
| 1 | News | 21.5 | Travel | 38.7 |
| 2 | Social Media | 17.4 | Travel | 38.7 |
| 3 | Entertainment | 12.9 | Entertainment | 30.9 |
| 4 | Gaming | 9.8 | News | 30.2 |
| 5 | Shopping | 8.6 | Gadgets & Technology | 30.0 |
| 6 | Other | 8.5 | Fashion | 26.8 |
| 7 | Travel | 6.7 | Celebrity | 26.7 |
| 8 | Sport | 5.7 | Social Media | 24.4 |
| 9 | Gadgets & Technology | 4.1 | Sport | 23.5 |
| 10 | Fashion | 2.0 | Gaming | 22.4 |
| 11 | Gambling | 1.8 | Gambling | 11.8 |
| 12 | Celebrity | 1.0 | Other | 13.5 |
Browser Confusion
Just as you would never go hiking without a sturdy pair of boots, you need the right equipment to make the most of your digital exploring – a fact which Internet users are waking up to.
Despite the fact that over half of European Internet users (52%) are unaware of the differences in the leading browsers, many are aware of the elements that make a successful portal to the Internet.
Enhanced speed (25%), increased safety (22%) and ease of use (20%) are identified as the key factors that would encourage European Internet users to change browsers.
Making every Internet experience easier, faster and safer, Internet Explorer 8 is the most efficient window to the Web.
- ENDS -
For further information, please contact:
Cristina Rebollo, COI Consumer PR |Europe, Middle East & Africa
i-crireb@microsoft.com / +44 (0) 203 1396110
Jonathan Halliwell, Edelman
jonathan.halliwell@edelman.com / +44 (0) 207 047 2043
Notes to Editors:
About the study
Survey conducted through SurveyShack. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from SurveyShack. Total sample size was 6,053 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 8th-16th April 2009. The survey was carried out online and features responses from European Internet users. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all European adults (aged 18+).
* Source: www.netcraft.com - April 2009 survey results records 231,510,169 global sites.
1 Data based on survey conducted by SurveyShack on behalf of Microsoft. Total sample size was 6,053 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 8th-16th April 2009. The survey was carried out online. See above for details.
About Internet Explorer 8
Internet Explorer 8 is the next version of the world’s most popular browser that has been built from the ground up to be the best browser for the way people really use the web. Faster, easier, and safer than ever before, IE8 optimises developer and end-user experiences to provide a window to the web of online services. Moreover, Internet Explorer 8 offers new features and functionality that enables people to reach beyond the page in a number of faster, easier, and more secure ways.
About Internet Explorer 8 product features
Accelerators - Accelerators give people easy access to the online services they care about most, from any page they visit. Meanwhile, developers gain an easy way to extend the reach of their online services. Accelerators also allow users to browse faster by eliminating most of the clicks required to access desired content and services.
Web Slices - With Web Slices, people can see the information they want to see most often without navigating away from the page they are on. Web Slices enable users to easily monitor the information they most frequently browse to while they move about the web. Appearing in the Favourite bar, users can identify Web Slices with updates when in bold and they can see a rich Web Slice visualisation of their content with access back to the source web page.
Instant Search - The enhanced Instant Search box makes it easier for people to find content of interest and increases the relevancy of search results. As users type a search term, they can see real-time search suggestions, including images and rich text, from their chosen search provider. There is also a quick pick menu at the bottom of the search box, enabling people to toggle back and forth between their favourite web sites and search providers’ search suggestions with a simple mouse click. In addition, the enhanced Instant Search box presents results from the user’s own Favourites and browsing History.
Safety & Privacy - As today’s online threats evolve, people need to trust that they can browse safely. Internet Explorer 8 enhances customers’ online confidence by providing an increased ability to control and protect their data. Internet Explorer 8 is delivering an end-to-end approach to security and privacy that is focused on social engineering, new defences against web server attacks, and additional improvements to defend browser-based exploits.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
