From helping jobseekers find work to saving families hundreds of pounds on their household bills, the internet has changed the lives of many people.
That's why digital champion Martha Lane Fox, the founder of lastminute.com, has just launched her Manifesto for a Networked Nation, in which she sets out plans to get everyone of working age online by 2015.
She'll be taking part in a web chat today, which you can watch on our website at 3.30pm.
What are the benefits to helping people online?
Research shows that homes using the internet to find the best deals on things like household bills and holidays save an average of £560 a year. For example, the average amount people save on their car insurance through moneysupermarket.com is £234 a year. Our recent video 'Beat the Emergency Budget' shows how some households can save as much as £1,500 a year by bringing down their bills online.
PriceWaterhouseCooper has worked out that the total economic benefits of getting everyone online would be worth more than £22billion.
Of course the benefits of increased web access go far beyond simply saving money.
Getting online helps children do better in school, allows unemployed people to search for jobs more easily and helps socially isolated people, particularly older people, to connect with others.
There are 1.6million children living in families with no web connection - and today's manifesto claims they could boost their total lifetime earnings by more than £10billion by getting familiar with the internet early on.
Web access increases their chances of success in school and also allows parents to connect more easily with their children's schools.
Some facts:
- There are 10million people in the UK who've never been online
- That's the same as the population of our five biggest cities combined
- 38% of them are unemployed
- 19% are families with children
- Almost half of households earning less than £11,500 don't have web access
- 48% of people with disabilities aren't online
How can you help?
There are 40million people in the country with internet access - and if you're reading this, you're clearly one of them.
Martha will call on the government to do more to encourage people to get online, but there are things we can all do to help our friends, family and neighbours become digitally literate.
The Race Online campaign has started 'Pass IT on' - a website to show you how to help people find their feet in the online world, including basic courses such as how to use a mouse, browse the internet safely and how to work search engines.
Where to get online?
If you know of someone you'd like to help join the web community, have a think about where they could access a computer.
Perhaps you have a colleague you could take through the basics at work one lunchtime? If you're working with an elderly or unemployed person, try a UK online centre, usually found in libraries and community centres.
You can find your nearest centre at the UKOnlineCentres website. If you have any questions for Martha, pop back at 3.30 and you can ask her directly.
There's also a free telephone service for people without internet access to receive direct advice on getting online. The number is 0800 77 1234, so pass that on to anyone you know who's missing out on the benefits of the web.
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