Surfers across Europe averaging 12 hours a week online

Europe's 16 to 24 year-olds are using the internet more than traditional TV, according to the latest research from the European Interactive Advertising Association.

Surfers across Europe as a whole are spending longer online, averaging 12 hours a week compared with 11 hours last year.

Social networking use has nearly doubled in the past year, according to the research. Some 42 per cent of internet users regularly visit sites such as Facebook and MySpace compared with just 23 per cent this time last year.

Italians are the heaviest internet users, averaging 13.6 hours per week, followed by the Swedes at 13 hours and the French at 12.7 hours.

The British are the seventh heaviest users at 12 hours a week online, up from 11.3 hours in 2006.