Hardly a day passes without some report about the myriad uses for the Internet. E-commerce is the latest favourite, both between companies and with their customers.

The results of research carried out in the US and Britain might, therefore make sober reading.

It appears that e-mail has replaced research as the leading reason given by people in the US for using the Internet, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers survey. Approximately 48 per cent of US consumers said e-mail was the primary reason to go online, followed by research at 28 per cent, according to the 1999 Consumer Technology Survey. The numbers were essentially reversed in last year's survey.

In Britain, 39 per cent use the Internet for email, while 37 per cent use it for research.