Maybe it is because some people really do prefer to use it then paypal because some countries aren't allowed to withdraw funds from PayPal. With PayPal, you also can't send funds to people in those countries, which can suck especially if you want to pay them for something.
It seems like a lot of people from countires other than US use e-gold. I personally dont like it. Ive been hacked twice and theres no REAL way to get your money out and turn it into REAL cash unless u want to pay a heavy fee!