MUMBAI: Almost one third (31.7 per cent) of the UK's adult population have listened to the radio via the internet, according to new research from Rajar.

According to a report in the New Media Edge, the third Rajar Measurement of Internet Delivered Audio Services has revealed that 16.1 million people claim to have listened to the radio via the internet compared with 14.5 million people in May 2008.

The report, compiled in October this year, says that of this, 15 million listen live and 13.5 million use a Listen Again service, with the majority tuning in at home (89 per cent) while 21 per cent listen at work and six per cent listen elsewhere.

The number of people to have used a Personalised Online Radio was 2.9 million, up from 2.1 million in May  The survey also found 7.2 million people have downloaded a podcast, up from six million in May with 4.1 million  tuning in weekly, up from 3.7 million in May and up 2.2 million year-on-year.

The average podcast user subscribes to 4.41 podcasts with comedy and music the favourite genres. Some three quarters of users listen on their personal computer and 78.7 per cent listen at home, while 65.7 per cent transfer them to portable devices and 44.8 per cent listen in the car or on public transport.

Some 55 per cent of respondents would be interested in downloading podcasts containing advertising if they were free. 33 per cent responded positively to the idea of podcasts without adverts that had to be paid for, however just three per cent of podcast listeners have ever paid for a podcast.

The report quotes Rajar research manager Christel Lacaze as saying that, "With the increase in broadband internet access rising from 51 per cent of UK households in 2007 to 56 per cent in 2008 and the high profile launch of BBC iPlayer, listening to the radio has never been a more attractive proposition.

The survey was conducted during October 2008 by Ipsos MORI and is based on the responses of 1,142 respondents.