The digital divide now comes down to a classic case of rich versus poor, rather than its earlier history as an ethnic divide, according to a new study released by research firm Jupiter Communications.

The "Assessing the Digital Divide(s)" report shows households earning $75,000 or more account for 15 million Internet users. That group is expected to grow to 20 million by 2005. Among households earning $15,000 or less, only 3 million will be wired to the Web by the end of the year.

While certain ethnic groups still have low "Internet penetration" -- the percentage of families with online access -- those numbers are expected to increase dramatically by 2005. African-American, Hispanic-American and Asian-American households are predicted to "grow at double-digit rates annually for the next five years," the Jupiter report states.

The study also found differences in Internet usage among age groups. Children 12 years old and young and seniors citizens are well behind the national average for Internet access, but that gap should narrow by 2005 with 62 percent of children and 48 percent of seniors using the Internet.

People 50 years old or older using the Internet will account for 23 million users by the end of this year, which will comprise a larger demographic than any youth segment. Right now, there are 14 million children, 13 million teens and 12 million college students using the Internet.

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