Eighty-two per cent of Maltese households have a high speed internet connection, beating Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.

Malta ranks third, behind Iceland, at 86.7 per cent, and Korea, at 95.9 per cent, in a survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The Communications Ministry welcomed the figures, saying the increase in the take-up of broadband was the most significant product of the government’s initiatives to narrow the digital divide.

It said that between June 2009 and June 2010, broadband subscriptions in Malta surged by an unprecedented 10.2 per cent, the largest jump recorded over the years, according to figures compiled by the National Statistics Office.

There are 117,503 Maltese households using high speed internet.

The ministry said in past years it had supplied over 2,000 personal computers to less privileged people at very affordable prices and had introduced wi-fi spots in schools, local councils and public places.

Malta also leads in providing the most sophisticated e-Government package in the EU, attracting more users to online public services and to the internet in general.

Communications Minister Austin Gatt said he never doubted that Malta would reach the pinnacle. “I always believed in Malta and my government’s policies have helped unleash our true potential. I consider this latest leap in broadband take-up to be yet one more sign that Malta is a truly inclusive society and provides the ideal environment for investment and initiative. The statistics indicate that subscriptions in all forms of communications technology, not only internet but also fixed and mobile telephony as well as pay TV, continued to increase during the second quarter of 2010. This is just the sort of encouragement we need to take Malta to the next generation network.”