Next is the first choice of women on the Internet

According to Nielsen/NetRatings, the most popular port of call on the Internet for British women is clothing retailer Next's Web site.

More than 82 per cent of visitors to Next's Web site are female. Game site Neopets came in second, with women making up 67 per cent of users.

Gus-secure.co.uk, marks andspencer.com and debenhams.com were third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Taken as a whole, the percentage of European women using the Internet has increased from 41 per cent last year to 42 per cent.

'Getting more women online matters as there is still a perception of the Internet as a male-dominated place,' said Nielsen/NetRating European analyst Tom Ewing.