Seven million British adults have never used the internet

More than seven million adults in Britain have never used the internet - 15% of the population.

Men are more likely to use the net - 87% of men have used the net, as opposed to 83% of women.
 
In the third quarter of this year, 7.63 million adults had never used the internet.

The figure was released by the Office for National Statistics.

The problem of 'web illiteracy' is thought to cost our economy £3 billion per year, according to analysts Booz and Company.

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Research released last week by charity Go ON UK suggested that there are a further nine million people in Britain who do not have the basic online skills to log on to a website, buy something from Amazon, watch a video on YouTube or even send an email.

The number of people who have never used the internet is dropping steadily, according to the ONS statistics.

The third-quarter figure of 7.63 million is 2% lower than the second quarter of this year - and has dropped 9% year-on-year from 2011. and 9% lower than at Q3 2011.
 
By region, London had the highest rate of Internet users (88%); Northern Ireland the lowest (77%).