Up to 58 percent of Vietnamese use the Internet with average time spent online at 16 hours per week, according to a recent survey by Nielsen Vietnam on Internet use.

The rate is 19 percent in Indonesia, 67 percent in Singapore, 38 percent in Malaysia and 31 percent in Thailand.

Speaking at a recent meeting with the Ministry of Information and Technology, Vaughan Ryan, general director of Nielsen Vietnam, said the Internet penetration rate in Vietnam was high due to a young population who loved new technology and online interaction.

The survey indicates that many people spend up to 31 hours on Facebook and other social networking sites via laptops, computers and smart phones. Many companies have banned their employees from using social networking sites during work hours, but Nielsen Vietnam says this tendency should be encouraged as it boosts interaction among people in a modern way.

According to Nielsen Vietnam, social networking sites help connect consumers with companies and brands, and many Vietnamese consumers joining fan pages of companies and brands on Facebook. -VNA