Unique mobile Web users increased 34 percent from 42.5 million in July 2008 to 56.9 million in July 2009, according to The Nielsen Co.

The number of youths ages 13-17 who use the mobile Web increased by 45 percent and the number of seniors 65 years and older saw a 67 percent increase. Female mobile Web users grew 43 percent from last July.

?Mobile is continuing to grow at a torrid pace,? said Chris Quick, lead analyst of mobile media at The Nielsen Company, New York. ?Much like we've seen with smartphones, the mobile Internet has begun to grow beyond its traditional boundaries [that had been] young males to more closely reflect the mobile subscriber profile as a whole.? 

Women use the mobile Web primarily to browse celebrity news sites, visit social networks and for shopping. In July, Nielsen found that women were 1.4 times more likely to visit People.com and use AT&T search via a mobile Web device.

When it came to men, the most popular mobile sites were centered on news, sports and games. The study found that men were 1.8 times more likely to visit Gizmodo, a technology news site, via their mobile phone.

Gizmodo was the No. 1 site visited by men on the mobile platform.

It is no secret that teens primarily use mobile devices for texting. In the second quarter of 2009, the top-ranked mobile activity for teens was texting. Eighty-four percent of teens sent a text message and 55 percent reported sending a picture message.

?As more women, teens and older subscribers acquire smartphones and other advanced media phones and purchase their accompanying data plans, we are seeing their usage of these media vehicles increase,? Mr. Quick said.

Mr. Quick said the initial surprise of the study was the lag in growth for the 18-24-year-old demographic. He said 33 percent of 18-24-year-old subscribers have accessed the mobile Internet in the past 30 days, compared to the 22 percent of consumers ages 13 and older, leading the 18-24 group to over-index in mobile media consumption.

Nielsen?s findings show that mobile marketing is moving beyond its perceived niche targets to reflect the consumer as whole, meaning that brands should tap into the mobile arena to reach consumers.

?The level of personal connectivity mobile affords means marketers can reach consumers at each step in the marketing funnel ? awareness, trial, persuasion and loyalty ? to deliver brand affinity and drive sales,? Mr. Quick said.

?Critical mass has arrived and consumers are connecting with their mobile phones uniquely,? he said. ?It?s a highly interactive medium used for primarily personal and social purposes.

?This affords brands the opportunity to integrate mobile into their broader campaign efforts to forge the personalized experience that uniquely comes with mobile by providing the right message at the right place.?