The Paris-based Organisztion for Economic Co-operation and Development has warned that the Internet economy could shrink as part of the worldwide downturn. In a report it also forecasts contraction of the semiconductor industry and cutbacks by corporate customers.

The report said that with the outlook for the global economy worsening and business and consumer confidence plummeting, growth will remain flat or decline in 2009. The IT industry would grow four percent this year and some sectors such as software, outsourcing, Internet sales and infrastructure investments will weather the storm better than others.

However, the semiconductor industry, seen as a leading indicator for the information technology sector, will fall nearly six percent in 2009 after weak growth of 2.2 percent in 2008, according to the report.