Brits enjoy a very merr-e-Christmas

This Christmas Day saw the internet move closer to joining Only Fools and Horses and James Bond movies as the UK's favourite means of entertainment, with web traffic hitting unprecedented levels.

According to the London Internet Exchange (Linx) traffic on 25 December was almost 50 per cent higher than a year ago.

At its peak, the Exchange saw 22 gigabits of information flowing through its pipes each second, roughly equivalent to 1.3 million emails being sent.

Meanwhile, a million fewer Brits watched the BBC's Rodney and Delboy Christmas special compared to 2002.

"Over the holiday period, people may have been sending emails to relatives overseas or logging on to websites," said Vanessa Evans, sales and marketing manager at Linx.

"There were probably also many people using Christmas gifts such as internet-based games for the first time."

The Christmas build-up also showed a marked increase in internet traffic. Linx figures showed that, while traffic levels had remained relatively static over the summer months, in November and December it surged.

Of course, not all of the increase can be attributed to people emailing and buying online.

"It partly reflects the increasing amount of automated internet traffic which continues regardless of the holiday," said Evans.