http://www.useit.com/alertbox/scrolling-attention.html
Design Implications
The implications are clear: the material that’s the most important for the users’ goals or your business goals should be above the fold. Users do look below the fold, but not nearly as much as they look above the fold.
People will look very far down a page if (a) the layout encourages scanning, and (b) the initially viewable information makes them believe that it will be worth their time to scroll.
Finally, while placing the most important stuff on top, don’t forget to put a nice morsel at the very bottom.
Also worth reading this article:<o:p></o:p> The myth of the page fold (http://deepend.posterous.com/the-myth-of-the-page-fold-evidence-from-user-18)<o:p></o:p> I think the page fold is becoming less of an issue as people become used to long pages like blogs and facebook news feed etc. Obviously anything above the page fold will get more attention… but by presenting content correctly, it is possible to provide behavioural cues for users to scroll down to see more.<o:p></o:p>