The study, released Tuesday, found that among online Americans, 77 percent have sought information on the Web about the conflict, while 87 percent have turned to the television. The study also found that Web users are more likely to support the war than non-Web users, but opponents of the war say the Web is more likely to have shaped their view than supporters.

"The Internet and the Iraq War" surveyed 1,600 U.S. adults during the first six days of the war.

The results showed that Internet users view the president, the press and war efforts in general more positively than those who aren't online.

But online war opponents were more active in embracing the Web, with 46 percent saying the Web was a "very important" tool for accessing a variety of news and information sources, compared with 35 percent of war supporters. About 38 percent of war opponents called the Web "very important" for getting views about the conflict from outside traditional government sources, compared with just 20 percent of supporters. War opponents were also more likely to spend several hours a day online than war supporters.

"War opponents are more politically active online, more anxious to discuss the war and more likely to seek out a variety of sources of information about the war," the report said.

Overall, among those who turn to the Web for information about the war, 66 percent said they do so to get news from a variety of sources, 63 percent said they wanted to get up-to-the-minute news and 52 percent wanted to get points of view that were different from those found in traditional news.

Although blogs seem to be generating buzz as the latest trend among Internet fans seeking war coverage, just 4 percent of surfers said they turn to the Web diaries for information and opinions about the conflict.

"Our first soundings on the subject show that blogs are gaining a following among a small number of Internet users, but they are not yet a source of news and commentary for the majority of Internet users," researchers wrote. "The early data suggest that the most active Internet users, especially those with broadband connections are the most likely to have found blogs they like."