Some 65% of US adults say they cannot live without internet access, and nearly half of women (46%, vs. 30% of men) would rather give up sex for two weeks than give up the web for the same amount of time. Nearly unanimous majority of US adults view internet access essential to daily life in today’s economic climate, and more than nine in 10 believe the internet has made their life better, according to a study conducted by Harris Interactive.

The U.S. was the largest broadband market by services revenues in 2008, ahead of Japan and Germany. The U.S. generated more than $32 billion in broadband revenues in 2008, a long way ahead of second-place Japan, which generated $23 billion in broadband revenues. Germany was third, with more than $11 billion in revenues, followed by China with $7.9 billion. China, however, still beats the U.S. in terms of the number of fixed broadband connections, with 81.9 million as opposed to the U.S.'s 78.5 million. Japan and Germany come in third and fourth places with 30.3 million and 23.3 million lines, respectively, according to a new report from Pyramid Research.