Use of internet in Europe

Some recently released statistics from Eurostat give an idea of Internet access and use in the 27 European countries in 2008. Overall one can see that penetration is greatest in Nordic countries & the Netherlands. The press release highlights that "Nearly 30% of individuals use internet banking; 60% of households have internet access ... 48% had a broadband internet connection." As you might expect, the trend in various things is upwards, but (to generalise) with all countries increasing usage, so the countries with lower access are not really catching up much. The UK is in the middlre band of usage, I would say. "The lowest levels 9of internet access) were registered in Bulgaria (25%), Romania (30%) and Greece (31%)."
Basic stats at
http://europa.eu/rapid/
pressReleasesAction.do?reference=STAT/
08/169&format=
Detailed statistics at
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/
page?_pageid=2973,64549069,2973_64554066&
_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
Photo by Sheila Webber: Sheffield Botanic Gardens, Feb 2009