Here’s an interesting new survey that underlines the way social media usage is taking off. According to eMarketer, 39% of UK Internet users, or more than 15 million people, will use social networks at least once a month this year.

In five years time the social networking population will reach 22 million, half of Web users, it says.

No surprise that most users of social networking, forums and blogging are young and male, although more and more women are getting involved. Older age groups too are increasingly represented, as professional social networking among UK employees grows.

The report analyses the way that social networks are growing, also other topics such as the most popular blogs, how social media differs by age group, and how marketers can make use of it.

More details here.