PHNOM PENH, Dec. 16 (FN) -- The Internet has, for the first time, surpassed television as the main source of news for Cambodian people, according to a new study on Friday.

"In 2016, Internet/Facebook became the most important channel through which Cambodians access information, 30 percent, surpassing TV, 29 percent, and almost doubling radio, 15 percent," said an annual report on mobile phones and internet use in Cambodia publicized by the Asia Foundation and Open Institute.

It said one of the study's most interesting findings was the fact that almost a third of Cambodians used the Internet to read and write, noting that their reading and writing activity allowed them to access more information, enhance their communication skills, and increase their level of social participation.

The study, conducted in September by interviewing 2,061 participants aged 15 to 65 years old across Cambodia, showed that Cambodia's phone market was saturated, with over 96 percent of Cambodians claiming to own their own phone.

It added that some 48 percent of Cambodians were found to have at least one smartphone, and almost half of them claimed to have accessed the Internet or Facebook.

According to government figures, some 6.3 million of the kingdom's 15 million people had access to the Internet by the end of 2015, most of them got access to online via smartphones.