2 June 2006

Around 29 million adults in Britain (63 per cent) accessed the Internet in the three months prior to being interviewed in February 2006, according to new research.

This was the first time in the annual poll by the Office for National Statistics that the figure was over 60 per cent and this group represents 93 per cent of the adults who have ever gone online.

The main place where people used the Internet was their home (86 per cent), with 46 per cent using it at work, 28 per cent at another person's home, 16 per cent at a place of education and ten per cent at a public library.

Two-thirds of those who have accessed the Internet at some point in their lives have bought or ordered goods online, with adults aged between 25 and 44 the most likely to do so (73 per cent).

However, almost half (46 per cent) prefer to shop in person and/or want to see the product first, while 34 per cent of this group have security concerns.

In addition, 49 per cent of men who had gone online in the three months before the interview had carried out Internet banking, compared with 35 per cent of women.

© Adfero Ltd

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