European Internet Report: Brits on Top

The British are the most active users of the Web in Europe. In all countries, women use it more than men

By Lucia Kubosova

Brits are the most active users of the internet among European nations, the UK's communication regulator, Ofcom, revealed in a report, depicting the country's population as keen participants of social networks such as Facebook and huge fans of online video games.

There is nearly one broadband connection for every four people across the G7 most industrialised nations plus Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden and Ireland, according to the International Communications Market report, published on Wednesday (19 November).

In the European Union, the UK, France and Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Ireland saw the highest average growth in connections between 2004 and 2007, at five percent per year.

Across all the countries surveyed, more women than men were using the internet.

The research found that US consumers spend most time online (15 hours per week) while Brits lead the European league with almost 14 hours. Spaniards on the other hand spend the least time on the internet: 7.5 hours per week.

Moreover, internet use per user has risen fastest in the UK over the last four years, at an average annual rate of 30 percent.

The British consumers also feature as the most frequent users of the internet for watching TV shows, but only within the European club—they come second after the Americans, the biggest fans of online video.

Similarly, Brits lead Europe use of social networking services, with 50 percent using sites such as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace—up 11 percentage points on last year. Globally however, Canadians are the most active users of social networking, with 55 percent of users participating.

On the other hand, the residents in Ireland spent the most time on their mobile phones—around 179 minutes per month—and sent the most text messages per head in the world in 2007, according to the same report.

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