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More than half of Europeans are now regular Internet users, 80 percent of them have broadband connections and 60 percent of public services are online according to a new report from the European Commission.

In 2007, the Internet attracted close to 40 million new regular users in the EU (now 250 million in total). More than 96 percent of European schools are now connected to the Internet, two thirds of which have broadband.

In the healthcare field, 57 percent of doctors send or receive patient's information online and 46 percent of them receive results from labs electronically.

Viviane Reding -
EU Commissioner
(Photo Credit: European Commission)

The majority (77%) of EU businesses had a broadband connection in 2007, up from 62 percent in 2005, and 77 percent use the Internet for banking an increase of 7 percent in 2005.

Overall, about 40 percent of EU citizens do not use the Internet at all. This ranges from 69 percent in Romania to 13 percent in Denmark and the Netherlands.

"It is especially good news that 77% of EU businesses, 67% of schools and 48% of doctors are now benefiting from fast broadband connections," said Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media

"However, some parts of the EU are still lagging behind and are not fully connected. All EU countries must therefore work harder to close the gaps, to enhance cross-border communication services as well as services that also reach rural and remote regions."