Malta may consider itself to be technologically savvy but half the population has never used the internet, according to a European Commission report on Digital Competitiveness.
While the island has made huge advances in the information and communication technology sector in the past years, particularly through the government's provision of online public services, 49 per cent of the population remain "internet illiterate".
This places Malta near the bottom of the EU league of internet usage, as the EU27 average of people who never used the internet stands at 33 per cent, 16 percentage points lower than Malta.
The report says that while internet use has been growing, Malta ranks among the last three of EU member states with respect to rates of regular and frequent internet users.
The take-up of internet services is generally below EU average, with the exception of downloading computer and video games, reading online newspapers and downloading/listening to/watching music and/or films.
On the other hand, the report highlights Malta's good performance in the provision of online public services - 92 per cent of which are available for citizens online and 100 per cent for enterprises.
This places Malta among the best in the EU in this area.
However, while an above average proportion of enterprises use online pubic services (74 per cent, compared to an EU average of 68 per cent), citizens' use remains relatively low - just 20 per cent of the population.
Though there is plenty of room for improvement, particularly by convincing non-users to become interested in the web, many are becoming conscious of the importance of becoming ICT-friendly, and internet penetration is increasing every year.
After a plateau in broadband growth in 2006, there was a substantial increase in 2007 and 2008. Broadband penetration now stands at 24 per cent of the population, placing Malta 11th in Europe, up five places from last year. While there is nearly complete DSL and cable modem networks coverage, mobile connectivity methods are not yet fully exploited.
The report says 55 per cent of Maltese households (or 93 per cent of those connected to the internet) have broadband access. Among enterprises, this figure rises to 89 per cent.
The Commission points out that broadband speeds are still among the lowest in Europe, "a consequence of interconnection issues to the mainland".
According to the EU Executive's report, the Maltese have understood the importance of ICT, especially the business sector.
"Malta's position is strong in eCommerce and eBusiness. No other EU member state features such a high share of enterprises' turnover from eCommerce. And all the eBusiness indicators are above the EU average," the report says.
The latest figures indicate that the Maltese business sector tripled its research and development expenditure in ICT between 2004 and 2005.
This expenditure relative to GDP remains lower than average, but one third (compared to 11 per cent in the previous year) of all research and development spending goes to the ICT sector, resulting in a steep increase of Malta's ranking (from 23rd to eighth position), mainly led by the presence of the semiconductors industry.