India ranks 33rd globally in using Internet to improve people s lives

India has ranked 33rd in a global Web Index compiled by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web.

The index, which takes into account the development of the web in a country, measures the economic, social and political impact of theInternet, ranking 61 countries on criteria ranging from the proportion of people online to the amount of useful content available.

Sweden has topped the list for overall impact of the web, taking first place for political, second place for social and third place for Economic Impact, following by the US and the UK taking second and third positions respectively.

The index found that Iceland has the greatest web use, with 95 percent of its population online.

Ireland, which overall ranked 10th, gained the highest score for economic impact with 14.8 percent of its gross domestic product coming from ICT service exports between 2007 and 2010.

Yemen was placed in the bottom of the index in three categories, including social and economic impact of the web.

The index also showed that about 30 percent of countries face moderate to severe government restrictions on access to websites, while about half of them show increasing threats to press freedom.

The top 10 countries in Tim Berners-Lee's web index are:

1. Sweden

2. United States

3. United Kingdom

4. Canada

5. Finland

6. Switzerland

7. New Zealand

8. Australia

9. Norway

10. Ireland