More than 22 million U.S. adults have an iPod or an MP3 player, with men more likely than women to be carrying the digital music devices, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

The number amounts to 11 percent of the U.S. adult population that''s 18 years old or older, the research firm said in a report released this week. Taking teenagers into account and it''s safe to say there are several million more people carrying the popular iPod from Apple Computer Inc. or a competing MP3 player.

Men are more likely have a music player than women, 14 percent versus 9 percent, respectively; and nearly 1 in 5 people under 30 have the devices, Pew found. Fourteen percent of adults between the ages of 30 to 48 had music players.

The devices were mostly for the well to do. A quarter of the devices were owned by people in households earning more than $75,000, with 10 percent living in households earning $30,000 to $75,000. Households making less than $30,000 accounted for only 6 percent of the devices.

Broadband access was strongly associated with ownership of the players. Some 23 percent of people with broadband at home have iPods/MP3 players, compared to 9 percent of those who have dialup connections. Almost a third of people with broadband access at home and work had the devices.

The Pew research was based on a nationwide phone survey involving 2,201 people and has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.