CompuServe customers across Europe were left without Net access this morning after the ISP suffered technical problems.

The scale of the problem is not known. Nor is it known at this stage how many people were affected, although the company did say it would issue further details when they became available.

The problem first cropped up at around 09:30 (BST) but was rectified by midday.

A spokeswoman for CompuServe said: "Some people were unable to get online. The problem was due to a minor systems error. We don't know how many were affected."

CompuServe is part of the AOL Europe stable of ISP brands, which includes Netscape Online and AOL. Together, it helps get four million people across Europe onto the Net -- or not, as the case may be. ®