New figures from the European Unioin's official statistics body showed that in 2004 on average 85 per cent of European student used the internet compared with only one in eight retired people.
The new report from Eurostat points to age and education levels as the main factors determining internet usage.
The data taken from the first quarter of 2004 showed that only 25 per cent of people with only lower secondary education access the internet. This number rose to one-half for those who had completed secondary education, and 77 per cent for people who went onto higher education.
The report identifies the key factors leading to the digital divide as:
* missing infrastructure or access;
* missing incentives to use ICTs;
* lack of the computer literacy or skills necessary to take part in the information society.
Interestingly, the presence of children in a household is a significant influence on ICT access. Homes with children are 50 per cent more likely to have a PC and a high-speed web connection that those without. In the UK this equates to more than eight in ten households with children compared with 57 per cent of childless homes.
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