In the European Union “over half of all homes are provided with access to the internet” and the figure is constantly growing: that’s the main finding of the Report on the use of the information and communication technologies published by Eurostat, the statistics office of the European Community, on 10 November. More precisely, at the end of March 2006, 52% of families in member states were able to use internet at home; in March 2005 the percentage stood at 48%. Broadband availability, which permits faster internet connection, now covers a third of private homes. As regards businesses, “94% of them have at least 10 employees with access to internet”. On frequency of internet use, Eurostat reveals that “47% of private citizens have recourse to it at least once per week”. The report published in Brussels, which also devotes attention to electronic trading and public services on-line, presents a “classification of states”: “The highest percentage – it says – of homes with internet access is registered in Holland (80%), Denmark (79%) and Sweden (77%)”. At the bottom of the table are Greece (23%), Slovakia (27%), Hungary (32%), Lithuania and Portugal (35%). Eurostat points out that the use of the internet is more widespread among men (51%) than among women (43%). Lastly an already well-known finding is corroborated “The main users of the net are youth between the ages of 16 and 24” (three out of four regularly use internet), far more than adults (54%) and the elderly (20%).
