Growth in emerging markets will help push the number of mobile devices accessing the internet to beyond one billion by 2013, according to IDC.
The analyst firm has released its Worldwide Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast which shows even though the US has the largest amount of devices connected to the internet at the moment, China leads in the mobile area with 85 million handsets going online in 2009.
Along with predicting that China's figures are set to grow, it has also predicted that India will have the fastest growing internet population, doubling by 2013, with the number of mobile devices will follow suit.
"The number of mobile devices with internet access has simply exploded over the last several years," said John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC, in a statement.
"With a wealth of information and services available from almost anywhere, internet-connected mobile devices are reshaping the way we go about our personal and professional lives."
There are currently more than 450 million mobile internet users worldwide, according to IDC, and over 1.6 billion using the internet. The firm has predicted that the latter figure will grow to 2.2 billion by 2013 but for countries like India and China it is the mobile access that will make all the difference.
Check out our feature on how UK broadband compares to the rest of the world to find out more about India's growing mobile internet market.
