Somerset is the UK's broadband capital, with nearly half of all the county's households and businesses having high-speed net access, a survey says.

Figures released by British Telecom reveal that Somerset has the highest take-up rate of ADSL broadband in Britain.

More than 47 per cent of Somerset homes and businesses are now connected to the high-speed internet technology.

Cornwall took second place with 46.3 per cent, closely followed by Oxfordshire on 45.1 per cent.

Other counties with high broadband usage include Buckinghamshire and Cumbria, the figures show.

Somerset's result of 47.2 per cent represents more than 115,000 customers.

Sally Wilcox, BT: "Broadband is proving a major boost to the economic success of Somerset and the South West as a whole as businesses use the technology to find new markets and work more efficiently."

BT says Somerset has a high broadband take-up because it has successful implemented a series of community-based projects aimed at promoting technology.

The county, which is more famous for its cider, has also seen a shift towards online retailing.

The South West as a whole is also the most "switched on" English region, with a take-up rate for ADSL broadband of 37.8 per cent - well ahead of the national average of 29.9 per cent.

Sally Wilcox, BT's regional director for the South West, said: "This is a fantastic achievement for Somerset. It shows that many of the county's people and businesses are switched on to the great benefits offered by high-speed broadband.

"It is also a tribute to private and public sector broadband partnerships, such as Connecting Somerset, which have played such a vital role in helping local firms make the most of the technology.

"Broadband is proving a major boost to the economic success of Somerset and the South West as a whole as businesses use the technology to find new markets and work more efficiently, whilst households take advantage of the almost limitless opportunities for education, entertainment and shopping.

"But much remains to be done. There are still too many Somerset people and businesses not yet using broadband. Increasingly, they will find themselves at a disadvantage in this internet age."

BT now has more than 900,000 wholesale broadband connections in the South West and more than 8.5 million across the UK, smashing its initial target of five million connections by the end of 2006. All BT exchanges in the South West are equipped with broadband.