RIO DE JANEIRO, June 27 (Xinhua) -- The number of internet users in Brazil has exceeded 40 million, according to a study released by research firm Ibope/NetRatings on Friday.

In the first quarter of 2008, 41.5 million people aged 16 or above have access to the internet from places like home, school, work, libraries, or cyber-cafes. This amount represents 22.5 percent of the Brazilian population.

According to Ibope, those figures reflect government policies that provide internet access to libraries and schools as well as better prices and credits to buy computers.

Some 2.8 million computers were sold in Brazil in the first three months of this year, which makes the country the fifth biggest market in the world, after the United States, China, Japan and Britain.

The study also showed that advertising on the internet has generated revenues of 134 million reais (about 83.7 million U.S. dollars) in the first three months, up 36 percent from the same period last year, surpassing revenues from advertising on TV in Brazil for the first time.