The government will today confirm that IT skills are to be given equal importance as reading, writing and numeracy in primary schools as part of a comprehensive curriculum overhaul.

The moves will be recommended in a review of the current system by Sir Jim Rose to be published later today which is expected to be endorsed by schools secretary Ed Balls.

Online tools such as Google earth and social networking sites will feature more prominently in classes to avoid the creation of a "digital underclass" of people who can not get jobs because they do not have basic technology skills.

Leaked versions of the report were criticised by opposition parties for over-emphasising technology at the expense of basic skills.

Stephen Crowne, chief executive of Becta, the government agency for technology in learning, said IT would not be taught at the expense of more traditional skills.

“The traditional core skills of reading and writing must always remain at the heart of primary teaching, but we must also recognise that there is a wealth of technology available today which, when used effectively and imaginatively, can complement the traditional skills and aid teaching," he said.