Europe gets nearer to information society
Erkki Liikanen, European commissioner for Enterprise and the information society, said he was satisfied with figures released in the latest Eurobarometer survey which show that the number of European households connected to the Internet had risen over the 20 per cent mark. However he said that while this was a positive sign of progress towards an information society, more had to be done to deal with IT skills shortages and Internet connectivity in schools. The figures show just over 28 per cent of European households were connected in October 2000 compared with less than 20 per cent in March. Stark differences remain within the European context - while Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden have rates over 50 per cent, France Greece, Portugal and Spain recorded rates that are still below 20 per cent. The USA has an average of 42 per cent. Mobile phone usage also increased in Europe, where the level leapt to 55 per cent of households owning one, a higher rate than in the USA.