Internet research company, JuxtConsult, has published its latest report on the state of Internet in India. The report, titled 'India Online 2007' offers interesting insights on the emerging pattern of Internet usage in the country.

For starters, there are no visible signs of any sweeping, far-reaching changes, nor are there indicators of a slowdown.

If at all, from April 2006 to April 2007, India's overall Internet population has grown by 28 percent to reach the current 30.32 million.

Of these 30.32 million Internet users (essentially urban), 25.17 million are 'regulars' who log on to the Internet at least once a month, while the remaining 5.15 million come under the 'occasional' user category - meaning they use the Internet with much less frequency.

However, for all practical purposes, on an average, about 20 million Internet users are logged on to the Internet daily.

Among Web sites, Yahoo! remains the most recalled, with nearly 30 percent Indians having it top of their mind. Ironically, when it comes to actual usage, Google beats Yahoo! with about 29 percent Internet users opting to use Google instead.

Little surprise that the JuxtConsult report reveals Orkut to be the 'dark horse' with the best recall-to-usage ratio of 1.76.

Further, the report reveals that for 14 out of 23 popular online activities, Yahoo! and Google remain the eternal favorites, almost on par with each other.

The surprise package of the report is four Web sites, namely, Yatra, Orkut, Magicbricks, and Zapak, all of which have raced the popularity charts to reach number one or two in their respective genres.

Yatra has gained 17 percent usage to come second only to Makemytrip.com, which retains top slot in the online travel space.

In the real estate category, the crown goes to Magicbricks, while in online trading, ICICI Direct remains the most popular.

Earning itself a 17 percent user preference is Zapak in the online gaming vertical.

And Orkut, despite all the controversies, the latest being Shiv Sena's demand for a ban on the social networking Web site, the Google-owned juggernaut rolls-on, infiltrating the young (urban) Indian consciousness with a 64 percent usage preference in the social networking category, and a 36 percent usage preference in the dating/friendship category.

Meanwhile, the online matrimonial space doesn't seem to be doing too well with rivals Shaadi and Bharatmatrimony continuing to fight it out among themselves - but with little success, especially as compared to last year...