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By Jo Best, 9 August 2004 12:00

NEWS Brits can't get enough of bashing their credit cards - the UK as a whole is now over £1tn in debt - and it seems the internet is helping send spending soaring.

According to new figures from Apacs (Association for Payment Clearing Services), one in 10 credit card transactions was made over the internet last year, with the popularity of internet shopping rising fivefold over the last four years - in 2000, just two per cent of transactions were made online.

The number of times shoppers buy from the internet has also risen sharply since 2000, when the average internet shopper made 6.5 purchases in a year. Last year, that figure had risen to an annual average of 11.2.

Favourite purchases remain the internet staples of books and CDs, with holidays, computers, financial services and food shopping making up the rest of the top five. Just getting information from the internet for offline transactions seems to be on its way out - half of all internet users used web banking and shopping services in 2003.

The UK's shoppers are a cautious bunch, however. Figures show that a much larger number of consumers opt for using credit cards rather than debit cards online, which is thought to be because credit cards offer better payment protection.

While spending on credit cards one of the most popular uses of the internet, keeping accounts up-to-date is de rigeur among the UK's online community. Apacs' statistics show that last year over 20 per cent of all of the UK's credit card holders viewed their statements on the web.

But they may be shying away from paying them off. A recent survey by the Nationwide building society found that one in 10 credit card holders is now having trouble meeting their repayments.