According to a survey conducted by British ISP Homecall, 23 per cent of Britons are getting broadband for the porn, and it's by far the most important factor in getting wired. 12 per cent cited access to music videos, 8 per cent access to movie trailers, and a gratifying 9 per cent for radio, which is undergoing a renaissance in the UK. Sometimes new media can be the best thing to happen to old media.

Only five per cent cited social factors, such as the ability to share photos and information with friends and family, which has spurred the latest round of Silicon Valley bubble investment. (Friendster, Flickr et al). And education didn't even figure.

One man who may feel a little vindicated by the survey is The World's Biggest Luddite, former Australian communications minister Richard Alston. Alston backed the claim that pornography was responsible for South Korea's high broadband adoption rate. Alston will be able to examine Britain's sticky habits first hand if he takes the job of Australian High Commissioner to London, as rumored. ®

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