Ladies love iPods.

That's the conclusion of a new study by Solutions Research Group, which found that women have been driving iPods to dominance of late.

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The study, based on a June 2006 phone survey of more than 1,000 US residents, found that ownership of iPods among women has tripled, from 8 percent in 2005 to 27 percent in 2006. Among men, iPod ownership jumped from 18 percent in 2005 to 28 percent in 2006.

Likewise, the number of women using paid digital download stores like Apple's iTunes more than tripled from 4 percent in 2005 to 14 percent in 2006.

"Women are more likely to be driven by acute time poverty and the iPod/iTunes combination offers an easy-to-use, hassle-free digital entertainment experience compared to p2p and other alternatives," study director Kaan Yigit said in a statement.

The study also found that the overall digital music market has doubled in a year, with 28 percent of Americans ages 12 and older--approximately 67 million people--now owning a portable digital audio player, up from 12 percent in 2005.

The survey found that the iPod upped its digital audio player market share from 53 percent in 2005 to 68 percent in 2006. Data from NPD Group has put iPod market share at more than 70 percent.

The Solutions Research Group study placed Creative Labs second in market share at 6 percent, with RCA, Samsung, and Sony each claiming less than 3 percent of the market.