More than 18 million households in the UK now have internet access as broadband connections increase for the fourth year in a row, according to a new report published by the Office of National Statistics.

The statistics show that 18.31 million people now have an internet connection in their home, which represents an increase of 1.85 million households since 2008.

A seven per cent increase in broadband connections means that 16.5 million homes have moved on from the early days of dial up connections, as it seems more people are using the internet for watching videos.

Around 42 per cent of users are now using the internet to watch on-demand services like BBC iPlayer, which is up from 34 per cent in 2008.

Users uploading photos and videos to sites like Facebook and YouTube also saw a significant increase, from 24 per cent to 40 per cent, in the past year.

Emailing remains the most popular activity amongst internet users, with 90 per cent of people sending and receiving emails.

The figures show that younger people still use the internet the most with 96 per cent of 16 -24 year olds surfing the net compared to around 30 per cent of users who are over 65.

The new report also showed that 86 per cent of UK households now receive digital television with the switch-over scheduled to be completed in 2012.

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