Times of Malta features high in the list of the most accessed websites on mobile phones, surpassed only by Facebook, Google and You Tube, according to a study by the communications regulator.

The newspaper portal was followed by the auction site eBay.

The study also showed that the number of people who accessed internet on their phone while abroad now stood at 77 per cent, up by an impressive 40 per cent over 2013. Two thirds of them use Wifi and one in five connect via a data plan subscription.

Nearly two thirds of mobile data plan subscribers think data service costs are affordable with nearly three fourths saying data service is reliable and coverage is good.

Data from the same study shows that 42 per cent of the Maltese population owns a smartphone, an increase of five per cent when compared to a similar survey in 2013. The increase is reflected across all ages except in the 65-74 years group.

Socialising and sending or receiving e-mails continue to be the most popular internet activities on a mobile

Though 79 per cent of the population are aware that internet can be accessed through a mobile phone, 47 per cent of respondents said they never had done so. The rest said they used the internet on their phone some time before they were interviewed, up four per cent over 2013.

Typically, mobile data users are generally aged between 16 and 34 and have a post-secondary or higher level of education.

Significant growth has been registered in the number of mobile data users that are subscribing to contract or prepaid plans, which have now reached 72 per cent when compared to the 52 per cent of 2013.

Contract monthly plans are generally preferred by those aged between 35 and 54 while prepaid plans are more popular among those aged between 16 and 34.

Socialising and sending or receiving e-mails continue to be the most popular internet activities on a mobile while social media and messaging are still the most accessed applications among mobile data users, followed by content and games.