"Other trends show women becoming more efficient in their web behaviour than men and are showing an increasing willingness to purchase online," Nielsen//NetRatings said in its latest findings.

Women now make up 52 percent of the total "at-home" Internet population in the United States, overtaking the men, and are rapidly catching up in the Asia-Pacific, according to a survey taken in May.

In Australia, women account for 48 percent of the total Internet population, followed by New Zealand with 46 percent, South Korea 45 percent, Hong Kong 44 percent, Singapore 42 percent and Taiwan 41 percent.

The number of women surfers has increased by an average 36 percent across the region since January.

Women were also spending longer online during the day, while the men's surfing times peak in the evening, it said.

"Women were later adopters of the Internet but are making up for that lag now, and the speed with which they are coming online means ... women must become an important target segment for e-tailers to focus on," said Hoe Chin Fee, ACNielsen eRatings,com managing director for Southeast Asia.

She said online retailers should focus on ease and convenience as women spent less time on the web because "they generally know what they are looking for and leave once they achieve their goal."

"Globally, we have found that women are a fussier breed of surfers than their male counterparts," she said.

Women in the Asia-Pacific spent an average 12 hours online in May, compared to the men who surfed an average 14.5 hours.