While some segments of the U.S. Latino population are using the Internet less than other segments of the country's adult population, some Latinos are online more than non-Hispanic whites and African-Americans, according to a study released Wednesday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

According to the study, 56 percent of Latinos go online. Of Latinos who speak only Spanish, 33 percent use the Internet. However, 78 percent of English-dominant Latinos and 76 percent of bilingual Latinos surf the Web. Internet usage by these two Latino groups exceeds statistics generated by their white and African-American counterparts. Seventy-one percent of whites and 60 percent of African-Americans surf the Web, the study notes.

The survey defined Internet use as occasionally going online and included sending and receiving e-mail as Internet use.

The study attributes Latinos' low overall Internet usage rates to a combination of socioeconomic factors, including limited English abilities and low education levels.

As in other groups, education plays a role in Latinos' likelihood to use the Internet. Of the 10 percent of Latins with a college degree, 89 percent go online. Of the 49 percent of Latinos who completed high school, 70 percent go on the Web. That figure declines to 31 percent for the 41 percent of Latins without a high-school education.

Also similar to other Pew surveys, younger generations of Latinos go online more than their elders. The study showed that this held true in the surveyed Latino demographic. The study noted that 67 percent of Latinos between the ages of 18 and 29 use the Internet, compared with 61 percent of Latinos aged 30 to 41. In the 42-to-51 age bracket, 58 percent went online. That figure dropped to 46 percent for those between 52 and 60, 27 percent in 61-to-70 age range and 17 percent for those older than 71.

Birthplace also plays a factor in the Latino population's likelihood of going online. Almost 80 percent of Latinos born in the U.S. use the Internet, compared with 43 percent of their immigrant counterparts. Internet use also is higher children of immigrants. Eighty percent of Latino second-generation U.S. residents use the Internet. However, that figure declines to 71 percent for third-generation Americans.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.