Light PC Internet users in the U.S. are 30 percent more likely than heavy PC Internet users to use their mobile devices to access online content, according to a new study from comScore.

In total, 42 million people used their mobile device in October 2008 to access news and information online, an increase of 57 percent from October 2007.

The study found that 15.2 percent of light PC Internet users accessed news and information on their mobile device at least once per week, compared to a lower 11.7 percent of heavy PC Internet users.

comScore defined “heavy” PC Internet users as those who viewed, on average, 6,701 pages in the month, and “light” users as those who viewed, on average, 1,104 pages in the month. Tenty percent of PC Internet users in the cross-media panel were classified as heavy users, and accounted for 43 percent of overall pageviews, while 50 percent were light users and accounted for 18 percent of page views. The balance was classified as medium users.

“The findings affirm that mobile Internet users comprise a substantial segment of the population, and suggest that a significant portion of these people are using mobile to supplement their at-home online media diet,” said Brandon Starkoff, VP/Mobile Activation Director at media agency Starcom USA.

“Understanding these emerging mobile behavior patterns is valuable to marketers looking for opportunities to increase scale and deliver valuable consumer experiences.”

The mobile broadband market will continue its rapid growth during the next five years and generate new revenue streams for mobile network operators according to a new report, “Mobile broadband in Europe: forecasts and analysis 2009-2014,” by Analysys Mason.

There will be 148 mobile broadband connections in Europe by 2014, when they will make up nearly half of all broadband connections in the region. Prepaid subscriptions will account for 59 percent of mobile broadband connections in 2014, up from 8 percent in 2008.

“Mobile broadband will be the key growth driver in Europe during the next five years,” argues Matt Hatton, Principal Analyst, Analysys Mason and author of the report.

“As growth in voice service revenue stagnates, mobile broadband provides operators with an opportunity to tap into a valuable new revenue stream – and they can not afford to miss out.”

Mobile broadband services will generate revenue of EUR23 billion ($29 billion) in Europe in 2014, compared with EUR6 billion in 2008 ($7.5 billion), which represents a compound annual growthr ate of 46 percent.

“The key development in the mobile broadband market during the next five years will be the growing proportion of casual users,” said Hatton. “

“These subscribers will have different usage profiles from the early adopters and landline-replacement users who have dominated the customer base until now.”

U.S. consumers are paying more attention to their finances and using online banking more frequently to access their accounts during the current financial crisis, according to a new study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Fiserv.

Nearly three-quarters (71%) of consumers said they were watching their finances more closely than they did a year a go. Online banking usage increased more than any other banking channel, with 28 percent of consumers reporting they are using online banking more than they did a year ago, and 63 percent said managing all of their accounts online from one site would help the feel more in control of their finances.

By comparison, only 10 percent of the 1,009 U.S. consumers surveyed reported increasing their ATM use, just 9 percent visit their bank branch more often, and 4 percent are calling customer service more often than they did a year ago.

“In these difficult times, financial institutions are looking for new ways to reach out to consumers and provide value,” said Todd Lesher, division president, Fiserv Electronic Banking Services. “This survey indicates that online banking is still a great opportunity for financial institutions looking to strengthen their ties with consumers.”

“Consumers are using online banking more frequently to monitor their cash flow, manage their finances more actively and save money on stamps. Financial institutions are playing an important role by providing new and innovative online tools to help consumers weather the financial storm.”

The growing interest in social networking has many people looking beyond the computer and mobile screens to their television sets according to a new study by ABI Research.

People are looking to extend their social networks to the TV, as 36 percent of those who currently use social media on a regular basis say they would like to access their networks on TV.

“Just as video entertainment is moving fluidly across various screens, so is social media,” says senior analyst Jason Blackwell.

“We’ve seen that consumers find increased value through shared entertainment experiences and want to explore and deepen these experiences through communities of interest; and that’s what social TV will ultimately do.”

Younger people are more interested in connecting with their friends through chat and messaging, while middle-aged people are more likely to be interested in more passive social networking behavior such as checking status updates.

The most popular potential application for those over 50 who expressed interest in TV social networking was being able to see what their friends were watching on TV.

“Today we already see tens of millions of consumers engaging in communities in the living room through online console gaming services,” adds Blackwell.

“Just as this interest community has seen rapid growth in the past few years, we expect the extension of Web 2.0 technologies to the living room to propel growth in new communities of interest.”