Scottish surfers kindest on the internet

INTERNET users in Scotland are the most generous and hospitable people in Britain when surfing online.

Those logging on north of the Border donate more money to charity in cyberspace than any other region in Britain and are more likely to use the net to keep in touch with absent friends, according to a survey by the think-tank Demos.

Experts say the spread of broadband is changing the way people use the internet, fuelling new ways of giving and preserving relationships that would otherwise fade away.

The report reveals that 12per cent of Scots give money to charity online, a figure 25per cent higher than the UK average. The report also said 85per cent of those surveyed in Scotland used the net to maintain friendships.

Angela O'Hagan, acting head of Oxfam in Scotland, said the report's findings were backed up by the charity's own experience. She said: "Scots are switched on to the most modern ways of giving and we receive generous levels of donation from the internet."

John Craig, the author of the report, said the figures showed broadband internet was powering a communications revolution. He said computers were "moving from studies into living rooms" and were now an important part of families and groups of friends. "The internet used to be a solitary activity but now members of the family are fighting over it like a TV remote, " he added.

Craig Turner, a civil servant who recently gained a diploma in computing, said the internet was now more important than the telephone. He said it allowed him to keep in touch with many different types of people. "I keep in contact with a lot of friends from other countries that I would never get the chance to speak to otherwise, " he said.

He used e-mail and messaging services to organise rehearsals for his band as well as to speak to friends and family, he added. "Obviously it can't replace face-to-face communications but it's more convenient and effective than giving someone a call."

Yaman Akdeniz, an internet civil rights expert from the University of Leeds, said the internet allowed people with similar interests and outlooks from all over the world to come together. That creates a great social environment for friendships to blossom, he added.

The anonymity aspect is useful as well, he said. "The internet lets people start up conversations with total strangers in a way that they wouldn't do if they met in the city centre or a pub, which is a very good thing. When people go into chatrooms they instantaneously feel part of a community."

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