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By Kate Hanaghan, 12 November 2001 16:00

NEWS European internet users spend more time surfing the web at work than they do at home. French and Italian workers stay online in the workplace for longer than the other European nationalities, accessing more pages and making more clicks, according to research from Nielsen/NetRatings. Workplace users tend to drill down deep into websites, exploring several pages in one session. In contrast, the same people prefer to surf through a limited group of their favourite sites when logging on at home. The average Italian surfer spends 36 minutes more on investment and finance sites per month at work than at home. Likewise, French surfers spend more than 11 per cent more time on directory and news sites at work than they do at home. According to the research, both French and Italian web use peaks mid-week and stays high from Wednesday until Friday. Faster connections, and the fact that access doesn't cost the individual a penny, are unsurprisingly the key factors. The way Europeans use the internet contrasts to the habits of their American counterparts. Nielsen NetRatings found that while US workers continue to access the web throughout lunchtime, there is significant dip in the number of French and Italian workers using the internet. Connections in Italy increase during the day and peak between four and six in the afternoon, although there is a lunchtime dip. By nine o'clock, 40 per cent of Italians accessing the web through work are still online. Web usage at work has proved to be a bone of contention for many employers who feel staff are spending too much time surfing for inappropriate content.