The average online computer user in the US spends six hours a week surfing the Internet, a new poll released on Tuesday said.

The poll, conducted by Louis Harris and Associates Inc, said the six hours did not include the time spent sending and receiving e-mail, which is the most popular online tool.

Almost two-thirds, 63 per cent, of online users send or receive e-mail "often", a 10 percentage point increase from September 1998, according to the poll which surveyed 2,015 adults over the telephone during two weeks in February. The next most popular activity, a full 24 percentage points behind, was conducting research for work or school.

Online shopping has surged in the last five months, with 31 per cent of online users taking part, an increase from 22 per cent in September, the poll said. Books, which 38 per cent of online shoppers bought, were the most popular item, 20 percentage points ahead of second-place software.

Some 62 per cent of those surveyed used a computer an average of 15 hours per week. The 30-39-year-old age group led the pack, using computers an average of 21 hours per week, including nine Internet hours, the poll said.

The poll has an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.