When it comes to emerging markets, there’s been a lot of talk of how the mobile web will be the dominant way that people access the internet. Now there’s evidence from Opera Software (OSL: OPERA), the browser makers, who in its October “State of the Mobile Web” report, found that the mobile web is replacing the wired web in Southeast Asia. Looking at data and metrics from its mobile browser Opera Mini, the company found that page views per user in Indonesia and the Philippines are significantly higher than the worldwide numbers. Page views in the Philippines alone grew more than 1120 percent this year. In Indonesia, each user browsed 358 pages on average in October 2008, “well above the global average”.

Highlights from the report:

— In Southeast Asia, among mobile Web users, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is the dominant player in the search engine space, with Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) and Live Search vying for second place. Friendster is the premier social-networking site in the region, with hi5 coming in second. Nokia (NYSE: NOK) is dominant in the region, with brands like Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC) and Huawei competing for a distant second place.

— Opera Mini users viewed more than 5 billion pages in October. Each person using Opera Mini viewed approximately 242 pages on average. Since September, page views have gone up 12.2 percent. Since October 2007, this number is up 326 percent.

—The report also includes a look at the ten most popular sites in the ten countries with the highest amount of traffic. In the US, UK, Egypt and India, Google.com is the most visited web site. In Indonesia, Ukraine, South Africa and Poland, it is the second most visited website. In China, it is third, and in Russia, sixth.

Release | Report

Photo Credit: ricardoalvarez