Uzbekistan sees rapid rise in Internet, mobile phone users

TASHKENT, January 12 (RIA Novosti) - The number of Internet users in Uzbekistan reached 855,000 in 2005, a 32.9% increase from 2004, the Uzbek government's press service said Thursday, while the number of mobile phone users more than doubled over the same period.

"There are well over 1.15 million cell phone users in the country, which is twice as many as at the beginning of last year," the press service said, following a cabinet session on telecommunication and information systems.

Cellular communications were developing faster than fixed-line telephone systems, the service said. "The development of telecommunications is a priority of the Uzbek economy," it said.

Uzbekistan has a population of around 25 million people.