More than 25 million homes and businesses around the world are hooked up to DSL, according to the latest stats from analysts Point Topic.

The figures show that the global take-up of DSL grew by 7 million (36 per cent) in the six months to the end of June despite ongoing industry and economic uncertainty.

In South Korea, a quarter of all phone lines are hooked up to DSL, making it the number one broadband nation in the world and the place where broadband is truly a mass-market service.

It's followed by Taiwan (11 per cent penetration), Hong Kong (10 per cent) and Belgium (8 per cent). Canada comes in at number five, Germany at seven and the US at 17.

The UK fails to make the top 20.

Said Tim Johnson of Point Topic: "These figures show that there continues to be a robust demand for broadband. Even in the midst of economic slowdown and telecoms crisis, DSL rollout is still going ahead at a high rate." ®