SUNDAY, August 17, (News Locale) - Cricket and Bollywood have always been termed as the life blood of any Indian and it comes as no surprise  that a recent survey carried by research firm Nielson reported that a majority of mobile Internet users in the country prefer gaming and entertainment websites on their handsets. 

Carried out as a part of Nielson's "Mobile Media Marketplace" study, the survey reveals that more than 38 percent of Indian mobile internet users prefer gaming websites while nearly 21 percent frequent entertainment websites.

The report adds that entertainment and gaming websites are popular in all the four BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, China and India). While India adds more than 8 million mobile internet users ever month, it lags way behind other BRIC countries in terms of mobile internet penetration.

Russia has the highest percentage of mobile Internet penetration at 11.2 percent, trailing behind just the US, UK and Italy. China's mobile Internet penetration stands at 6.8 percent while Brazil and India come a distant third and fourth at 2.6 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.

While mobile users in BRIC countries are happily browsing through entertainment and gaming websites, their western counterparts prefer news, weather, email or search websites.

Commenting on the difference in taste between the BRIC countries and other countries such as the UK and US, Nielson's Vice President for Mobile Media Jeff Herrmann said, "Users in the growing BRIC markets have not had the benefit of broad-based content distribution thereby limiting their exposure, and filling the service gap by embracing mobile transition into a personal entertainment platform."

So even while technology and gadgets continue to enamor Indians, it is clear where their heart lies - in cricket and in the film industry.