Women have overtaken men in surfing the Internet in the European Union (EU), reports Xinhua.

The 55-plus age group, both among men and women, are also increasingly gaining computer skills. This trend is set to continue, says a report by the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU.

However, the poorly educated and paid are not catching up as quickly and this is denying them new opportunities.

"Education, age and income remain the most important areas in the digital divide," says the report.

The prohibitive cost of personal computers is one of the obstacles to reducing the digital divide. This is particularly acute among the new EU member states.

The original EU 15 members had an average of 43.5 percent of its population using the Internet - this fell to 41.4 percent when the EU enlarged to 25.

Indo-Asian News Service