Emerging economies find own way of using web

Consumers in the world's largest emerging markets are developing widely diverging habits and preferences in their use of the Internet, posing challenges to multinationals' marketing strategies, a report has found. China's Internet population uses the web mainly for instant messaging and online music, videos and games. But Internet users in Brazil and Russia focus on search and e-mail, much like their peers in mature markets, according to a study by the Boston Consulting Group. The report, to be published on September 1, offers the first comprehensive comparison of Internet usage patterns in China, India, Russia, Brazil and Indonesia, that account for one-third of the world's Internet population.