Internet users in the US check their personal e-mail throughout the day, including at work.

Nearly one-quarter of Internet users surveyed in June 2008 for an AOL-sponsored survey by Beta Research Corporation said they were most likely to check their e-mail upon waking. But more than one-third said they checked throughout the day, and the rest of respondents said they checked at various times, including throughout the night.

More than seven out of 10 employed respondents also said they checked their personal e-mail at work—and nearly one-third said they did so more than three times a day.

Nearly 70% of respondents said they had multiple e-mail accounts.

It is no secret that a lot of what arrives in users' inboxes is spam, but much is legitimate marketing. More than three-quarters of online marketers in the US surveyed by the Direct Marketing Association in June 2008 said they used e-mail more than they did three years ago.