Silver surfers search the web for two hours EVERY DAY belying view they shun computers

And far from being left on the hard shoulder of the information superhighway, the cyber wrinklies are regular users of email, online shopping and social networking sites.

A poll of 3,500 people over the age of 60, carried out by networking website alljoinon.com, revealed that the older generation surf the web for at least 121 minutes, or 2 hours, every day.

That equates to 44,165 minutes or 736 hours across 365 days of the year.

That's an astonishing 12,147,728 people over the age of 60 who are embracing new technology on their own PC or laptop.

Carolyn Morris, spokeswoman for alljoinon.com, said: "About 40 per cent of my members are over the age of 60, and I have found them to be as computer literate as the next person.

"Just because we reach a certain age doesn't necessarily mean we lose the ability to use the internet, if anything we have more time to learn about and utilise online resources."

In fact, silver surfers spend the equivalent of 31 days a year online; shopping, researching, buying and selling on auction sites, chatting to friends and planning holidays.

Half of them are more likely to surf the world wide web on an evening than put their feet up in front of the TV.

The poll also revealed the older generation conduct a large percentage of their shopping online - spending an average of £48.78 a month or £585.36 a year on goodies.

Forty-five per cent regularly visit price comparison websites, whilst 55 per cent often buy and sell items on auction sites.

Fifteen per cent of 60-somethings also choose to use the internet to order their weekly food shop, and 26 per cent regularly splash out on clothes or shoes.

Six in 10 people regularly send and receive emails to friends and relatives, whilst 57 per cent enjoy entering online competitions.

A competent 58 per cent of folk prefer to surf the net for research purposes - looking up reviews, entertainment in the local area and planning holidays across the UK and beyond.

Sixty-somethings are proving to be far more savvy than younger generations give them credit for - 18 per cent say they regularly log on to download music onto their MP3 players. And 21 per cent have taken the time to download software and hardware updates.

Forty seven per cent of elderly people say they prefer shopping online to going onto the high street or visiting the supermarket.

A staggering 91 per cent of people over 60 own a PC or laptop, and 75 per cent purchased the computer purely for entertainment purposes.

Only four in 10 people worked on a computer in their previous job, and 48 per cent claim to know more about using the internet than their children.