Men checking in at double the rate of women on Foursquare, Gowalla

The number of men who use a location-based service such as Foursquare or Gowalla is double that of women, according to a study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, which examines online trends in the United States. 

Location-based services including Foursquare and Gowalla allow users to "check in," broadcasting their whereabouts to their friends. 

The study found that 3 percent of female Internet users had used these services, compared to 6 percent of men.

It is not unusual for men to lead women in adopting technology, according to Pew researchers. Aaron Smith, a senior research specialist, has explained that this is partially because the female demographic has a higher concentration of seniors, as women tend to live longer than men.

Women are also "less likely than men to be employed full-time and more likely to be either employed part-time or not employed for pay," he said.  

"At any rate, there are still some gender differences in technology use but that effect is much less pronounced than it was, say, ten years ago when we first started conducting research in this area,” he said. 

Location-based services have yet to catch on in a mainstream way, according to the study. Only 4 percent of online Americans use them. 

At 8 percent, the rate of use is higher among younger respondents, ages 18 to 29.