Kids under 12 are the getting connected to the Net at a rate of knots.

That's according to Nielsen/NetRatings, which also found that the UK has the highest number of kids online of any European nation, with some 4.5 million youngsters accessing the Net, compared to a smidge over three million in Germany and 1.5 million in France.

So, what does this all mean?

According to Tom Ewing of Nielsen/NetRatings, it's down to a combination of things - including the spread of broadband.

"As the Internet matures, the demographic profile of users moves closer to the European population as a whole and what we're seeing now is families using the Internet more," he said.

"It's likely that this is linked with the growth of broadband access – perhaps when they're not paying for access by the minute, parents are likely to let children use and explore the Web more."

If you say so. ®