Young adults in Europe find online advertising more effective than other channels; like their American youth counterparts. E-mail and instant messaging (IM) are high on the list of activities. A report commissioned by MSN and conducted by Helen Petrie, professor of human computer interaction at the University of York, details the online habits of young people in Europe.

Europeans age 16 to 24 years old use the Web as a social medium. Thirty percent of Web users in this group communicate via e-mail and IM with friends, family and colleagues. E-mail and IM are more heavily used early in the week. Lunchtime and the end-of-day periods account for peak daily usage.

Due to time spent on e-mail, 37 percent of online advertising is viewed by this group on e-mail Web sites such as MSNs Hotmail.

The Internet is viewed as the most favorable channel for advertising by this group, over traditional radio, cinema or magazine advertising. Nineteen percent find online ads the most informative form of advertising. Fifteen percent find it the most relevant when compared to traditional media in terms of reflecting the advances in creativity in the digital marketing industry in recent years, the report said.

Read more in regards to this group and their preferences.