"Once you get past the commonalities, men tend to be attracted to online activities that are far more action-oriented, while women tend to value things involving relationships or human connections", commented Deborah Fallows, a researcher at Pew and the author of the report.

The study also showed that the percentage of women using the Internet still lags a bit behind that of men. Women under 30 and black women outpace their male peers but older women trail clearly behind their older male counterparts.

Women tend to be more enthusiastic communicators online. They are more likely than men to use email to write to friends and family about all manner of subjects including sharing news and problems, planning forthcoming events and forwarding jokes and funny stories.

Men however, are more eager consumers than women of online information. Men have a tendency to look for information on a far wider variety of topics than women do.

Men are also more likely than women to use the Internet as a tool for recreational pleasure.