Anorak surfer image set to die out as Net use spreads

Surfing the Net remains a pastime reserved for anoraks and technophiles in the UK, but the situation is changing, and fast.

Only 3% of homes will be connected to the Internet by the end of this year, according to figures published this month by market information company Key Note.

The company predicts that the market for home Internet services will rise steadily. By the end of next year, 4% of households will be connected, with this figure rising to 12 % by 2000.

The profile of the average Net user will also change significantly, said Keynote. The Internet will cease to be a plaything of the well-off and will be used by people from all walks of life.

Keynote predicts the total value of the home Internet market is likely to be #336m in 1997, more than doubling by the turn of the century. Average fees paid to service providers will remain static at #180 per home, per year.

Yet the total fees collected will increase steadily, from #162m in 1997 to #468m by the millennium.

However, Internet use in the UK is still lagging well behind the US, where by September this year 14% of homes were online.