According to a new study by computer-networking company Cisco Systems, the number of Internet-connected devices will be twice as much as the number of humans in the world by the year 2015.

"Six percent of Internet traffic by 2015 will be generated by one device-the tablet," said Suraj Shetty, vice president of marketing for Cisco. This indicates that tablet computer market, which emerged with the launch of the revolutionary iPad last year, will grow to significant numbers in the world.

The internet connected devices such as laptops, smartphones and tablets will outnumber people to the tune of 5-to-1 in North America by 2015, said the Internet traffic forecasts.

The number of network connections from Internet connected devices in 2015 will increase to 15 billion compared to seven billion in 2010.

The Asia Pacific region will have the largest number of internet users, 1.33 billion in 2015 and will also have the most connections with 5.8 billion in 2015 and North America will use 2.2 billion.

Worldwide, about 40 per cent or 3 billion people will be internet users by the year 2015, said the study. The study also predicts that the speed of broadband connections will increase four-fold in the nest coming years till 2015.