South Koreans last year spent an average five hours online a day, more than double that in 2002.

The Korea Information Society Development Institute on Wednesday said people spent 297 minutes a day on the Web last year, up from 148 minutes in 2002.

The think tank's survey of more than 3,200 people found that 73 percent used the Web for data searches, playing games and leisure activities.

The nation is a world leader in broadband penetration, with more than 12 million people having high-speed Internet access.