More than four in 10 UK households accessed the internet from home in the first quarter of the year, according to government figures released today.

An estimated 10.7 million homes were able to access the internet between January and March - a threefold increase from three years ago and a 6% increase on the same period last year, according to national statistics' expenditure and food survey.

Levels of access vary widely according to region, however. London and the south east were the best connected, with 48% of homes having internet access, while Wales and Northern Ireland were lowest at 31%.

The statistics showed little sign of a closing of the 'digital divide' between rich and poor. Just 11% of the lowest of 10 income groups had net access, compared to 80% among the highest earners.

Meanwhile computers remain by far the most popular method of looking at the net. Just 5% of respondents reported using digital television, while 8% of adults who had ever accessed the internet by April this year had done so using a mobile phone.

Shopping online does not seem to have caught the imaginations of all internet users. Around one in three ordered tickets, goods or services online while three quarters said they went online to find information about goods or services, or to use email.

The continuing spread of the internet in the UK may eventually be brought to a halt by a lack of interest. Of the 45% of people questioned who had never used the internet, almost half - 44% - said that was because they were not interested in it.