Kids 2-11: Active Web-sters

Children 2-11 are the age group with "the fastest growing appetite for Web pages viewed," reports Net traffic measurer Nielsen NetRatings, adding that the number of Web pages they visit has grown 106% over the past two years. Nielsen points out that, though they don't spend more time online than their elders, they "digest more content at a faster pace." As for gender, growth of Web-page consumption for boys under 12 surpassed that for girls: boys' grew 55% over the past year, compared to 22% for girls. Most interesting, though, were their Top 5 picks. For girls, communications sites were tops; for boys, it was entertainment. Two-to-11-year-old girls' Top 5 sites were MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, and Macromedia (maybe to download its Flash and Shockwave players for online games and other multimedia features). For boys, the Top 5 were Disney Channel, RealOne Player (downloadable online audio and video player), Kraft Entertainment (e.g., "Arctic 3D Racer snowmobile game promoting X-Treme JELL-O Sticks), Amazon, and Cartoon Network. [See the charts at eMarketer.]