31/01/2007

More than half of British web users spend an average of seven days a year downloading from the internet, according to new research.

The study by price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com revealed that users are increasingly taking advantage of the availability of high-speed connections, with 18 per cent engaging in downloading more than five times a week.

Music was found to be the top download for most survey respondents, followed by software updates, freeware and shareware, and games, with the majority of people using their home PCs to download files.

'Our research reveals that people's appetite for downloading has grown and it is now an everyday occurrence,' commented Jason Lloyd, head of broadband at Moneysupermarket.com.

'Broadband providers have responded by increasing download limits on their products dramatically.'

Recent research from uSwitch also indicated that the average broadband user in the UK spends nearly five weeks a year on the web, equivalent to more than 15 hours a week.