According to a new report from the multi-platform Australian directory, information and publishing giant Sensis, more than 95 percent of SMBs in Australia are connected to the Internet, and 57 percent have a business Web site. By the way, this compares with 62 percent of U.S. SMBs that report having a Web site, according to The Kelsey Group’s Local Commerce Monitor Wave XIII, just completed this month.

The report says that although SMBs are spending less on computer hardware and software due to the economic downturn, they’re looking to online technologies — including advertising — to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Businesses are described as becoming “more creative with the way in which they market their products and services online.”

According to the report findings, one-third of Australian SMBs are using e-mail marketing. This is almost identical to the finding of Kelsey’s new Local Commerce Monitor survey, which found that 34 percent of SMBs in the U.S. are using e-mail marketing.

Note: The Sensis e-Business Report is based primarily on findings from the Sensis Business Index. This is an ongoing series of tracking surveys of Australian SMBs sponsored by Sensis. The survey cited above was conducted in May and June 2009, using a sample of 1,800 small and medium-sized businesses in Australia. The Kelsey Group Local Commerce Monitor Survey Wave XIII was conducted in August 2009, using a sample of 300. The Sensis survey includes a few businesses that are larger than those sampled in the Kelsey survey.