79% of U.S. adults surf the web

he survey, which polled 2,062 adults in July and October, found that 79 percent of adults--about 178 million--go online, spending an average 11 hours a week on the Internet.

"We're up to almost 80 of adults who now are online, or are somehow gaining access to the Internet. That's a pretty impressive figure," said Regina Corso, director of the Harris Poll.

The results reflect a steady rise since 2000, when 57 percent of adults polled said they went online. In 2006, the number was 77 percent.

When Harris Interactive, a market research firm, first began tracking online use among adults in 1995, the group found that only nine percent of the population--or 17.5 million--said they went online.

The poll also found that adults are spending more time online at home and at work, up 2 percent each at 72 percent and 37 percent respectively, from 2006. More dramatically, 31 percent of those surveyed said they went online elsewhere, up from 22 percent in 2006.

"They are finding however possible to get online...A third of the people who are online, that's how they're getting there--some alternate way," Corso said.

Demographically, the poll showed the online population aligning more with the general population.