Is this page taking a while to load? If you’re in the United States, and especially rural states, then the answer is probably yes. Especially compared to other countries around the world.

According to the second annual state-by-state Internet speed report by the Communication Workers of America, the United States’ average download speed is 2.35 megabits per second, good for 15th in the industrialized world. New Mexico is below average, with just a 2 megabit per second average download speed.

"Over the last year, people who live in New Mexico have gone to the speedmatters.org site to take an Internet speed test and measure how fast their computers can upload and download data," the report says. "The results of the speed test show that the Internet speeds of people who live in New Mexico, like those of the entire country, lag behind."

Japan leads the way with 63.6 megabits per second. The United States’ neighbor to the north, Canada, is in eighth place with an average of 7.6 megabits per second — three times the average download speed in the United States.

The average download in New Mexico increased from last year. In 2007, the average download speed was 1.72 megabits per second. However, other states increased more. New Mexico ranked 27th last year, compared to 36th this year.

Alaska, like last year, ranked last among the states with an average download speed of .545 megabits per second. Rhode Island came in first, with 6.7 megabits per second. It was the second straight year Rhode Island had the fastest download speed.

"The results of the 2008 speed test show little progress over last year," the CWA report noted.