African-Americans are catching up with the nationwide average in online usage, according to eMarketer report. Internet use among African-Americans has risen steadily, from 34 percent of the adult population in 2000 to 57 percent in 2005, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, according to which some 70 percent of the white U.S. population uses the internet. The 18.4 million African-American internet users make up 10.5 percent of the U.S. online population, nearly as many as U.S. teens online.

African-Americans' income and educational status are improving but still remain barriers to access. Some 50-60 percent of African American households have computers, compared with 70 percent of white households.

Some are concerned that the lag in usage may in part be self-imposed. "A computer and a DSL line don't cost that much anymore. We need to convince more households to buy computers and go online," Bruce Gordon, head of the NAACP, told Businessweek last month.