Women have overtaken men in the past three years in terms of the pace of internet up-take, according to a report from the European Commission. Over-55s are also increasingly gaining computer skills, and this trend is set to continue. However, the poorly educated and poorly paid are not catching up as quickly and this is denying them new opportunities. Education, age and income remain the most important areas affecting the digital divide, the report says. The report concludes that access to the internet and computer skills can help people escape from, and avoid, poverty, but more information, particularly from national sources, is needed so that policies to help people access the information society can be better targeted. Without action, Europe may become even more polarised between the ‘e-included’ and the ‘e-excluded’. Failing to acquire information skills compounds the difficulties faced by the poor and long-term unemployed. Following up on its 2001 study, the Commission report states that digital and social participation clearly appear ‘closely intertwined in a society which is becoming progressively technical.’ The report ‘E-inclusion revisited: the local dimension of the information society’ found that education is fundamental to being ‘e-included’. ‘Higher internet use seems to remain clearly and
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