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By Sally Watson, 11 October 2001 15:45

NEWS Over half a million UK companies are trading online, according to the latest set of statistics from the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI). Research for the DTI's International Benchmarking Study 2001 shows that a significant proportion of businesses are starting to engage in increasingly sophisticated uses of IT, involving business process re-engineering as well as more complex technology. The annual study measures the progress of the UK against Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Ireland, Sweden and the US. The proportion of businesses with access to the internet is above 90 per cent in nearly all of the countries studied and is 94 per cent in the UK, up from 90 per cent in 2000. Eighty per cent of British firms now have websites, up from 66 per cent last year and, with Sweden, the highest proportion among the countries studied. Seven per cent more have some form of connection to the internet for research or email, even if they have no website. Launching the study, e-minister Douglas Alexander said it showed the UK was making progress but businesses couldn't become complacent yet. "We have set demanding targets and must continue the e-revolution and help UK business get to the future first," he said. However, British companies faired worse in other areas, with just over a quarter using IT to change financial processes, leaving them trailing behind firms in Japan, Sweden, Ireland and the US. The figures for broadband access also make depressing reading. On average just two per cent of firms have ADSL installed, whereas just one per cent use wireless broadband or satellite. The vast majority of firms still rely on ISDN (29 per cent) or leased line (34 per cent) for internet access. The study is based on the results of over 7,500 telephone interviews with businesses of all sizes in manufacturing, wholesale, retail, catering, travel, financial and insurance, computing and other business services.