NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Though porn and music downloads may be the driving force behind broadband growth in Europe, high-speed Internet users in the U.S. tend to be more ordinary -- using the higher speeds for such basic computer tasks as checking e-mail and weather reports.

The number of Europeans using broadband at home jumped by 136 percent in the year ended April 2003, with adult entertainment sites becoming the main beneficiary of the boom, according to a report Thursday by Nielsen/Netratings.

But "the motivation for most people to get broadband in the U.S. is for the more mundane tasks," said Jed Kolko, principal analyst with Forrester Research. "Broadband is more widespread and mainstream in the U.S., so it caters to a more basic user who's not as interested in music downloads or adult sites."

Forrester expected broadband access in about 58 million homes by the end of 2007, according to an October 2002 report.

But since then, Forrester has reduced its estimates because prices for broadband use haven't fallen as much as they previously expected. The firm said it will update its October estimates within a couple weeks, but wouldn't release preliminary figures.

"Price is the main thing holding broadband back," added Kolko. "Most people know [broadband] exists and it is better than dial-up, but they don't want to pay for it."

According to another research firm, Nielsen/Netratings, there were 39 million homes with broadband access in the United States at the end of April 2003, up 55 percent from the 25 million a year earlier.

In comparison, the firm said there were 70.4 million dial-up users by the end of April, down 11 percent from the 79 million a year earlier.

Cable broadband services cost $40 to $45 per month, whereas digital subscriber line access typically runs $45 to $50.

Verizon (VZ: down $0.10 to $37.18, Research, Estimates) became one of the first companies to cut high-speed prices as it recently dropped the price of its DSL service to $34.95 from $49.95.