urlConnection.connect() works only in AsyncTask - android

I am connecting to a web service using

   urlConnection.connect();

This works only in AsyncTask. I am not able to execute the above statement on plain activity (without AsyncTask )

Is it the behavior by design, or I am missing something.

By the way, this is my first question

Answer

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Network communications must be done in seprate Thread in android.
Read more about it here developer wiki