comScore reports that global Internet users totaled 747 million adults in January 2007, representing a 10 percent increase over January 2006. Non-U.S. users accounted for 80 percent of the global online population.

It could be profitable for wholesalers and retailers to market internationally if the right dropshippers are available. Of course it depends on the nature of the product and how well it would fit in with various foreign cultures.

If interested, you must translate your web site into regional languages, and this is best done at the local level. But translation isn’t everything. For more information on how to be successful with an international web site, see “It’s in the Details: Seven Secrets of a Successful International Website” at Digital Web magazine.

The highest broadband penetration is concentrated in 15 countries, with India, the Russian Federation and China showing the largest increases (33%, 21% and 20% respectively). While the U.S. has the largest Internet population in the world (153.4 million adult users), China is second with 86.8 million users.

comScore also measured engagement by analyzing the average hours online per visitor in the top ten countries during January 2007. Canada led the list, where the average user spends 39.6 hours online per month (41.3 hrs for broadband users). The top five include Israel, South Korea, the U.S. and the U.K. All these countries have high broadband penetration.