European consumers will spend more time on the internet than watching TV in 2010, Microsoft has predicted.

In its latest report, the software developer said that Europeans are likely to spend 14.2 hours a week surfing the internet by June next year, while 11.5 hours a week will be dedicated to watching TV.

Jeffrey Cole of the Centre for Digital Future at USC Annenberg School explained that this means TV content will be watched via more diverse platforms than previously rather than pointing to a decline in the TV sector.

He said that TV "will become our constant companion as it escapes from the home for the first time via the mobile phone and netbook PC".

The research also predicted that the internet will become more social thanks to the rise of user-generated content on more traditional sites such as news portals.

This will help online advertisers looking to personalise their campaigns and make them more relevant to users as social connectivity becomes increasingly commercialised, Microsoft said.

It also echoed a recent report from KPMG in stating that European web users are likely to become more comfortable with digital marketing as a way of accessing free content.

The KPMG study, published earlier this month, showed that 60 per cent of consumers would prefer to view online ads and get web-based music, videos and other content for free over paying for content subscriptions.
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