More than half (56%) of Europeans are now regular Internet users compared to one third in 2004, according to a new report from the European Commission.
Half of households and more than 80 percent of businesses now have a broadband connection.
The most active Internet users are those between the ages of 16 to 24 with 73 percent of them regularly using advanced services to create and share online content, twice the EU population average (35%).
The report found younger Internet users were reluctant to pay to download or view content online like videos or music (33% say they are not willing to pay anything at all, which is twice the EU average).
Despite progress, a third of EU citizens have never used the Internet. Only 7 percent have shopped online in another member state.
"Pro-active policy making across the EU must ensure that everyone has a high-speed internet connection and that there is an online single market, where people can easily use online services across borders," the report concluded.
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