POLITICIANS and pressure groups should use the internet if they want to win over young people that is the conclusion of a Swindon-based research project.

Organised at a cost of £86,000 by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), whose headquarters are at North Star in Swindon, the groundbreaking project is part of the Democracy and Participation Research Programme.

It revealed that people aged 15 to 24 are three times more likely to be politically active through the internet than through traditional means such as attending meetings.

The survey was prompted by the fact that only 40 per cent of people aged 18 to 24 voted in last year's General Election.

The turnout at this year's local elections was boosted in Swindon by a trial that allowed people to vote by internet.

Project director and politics lecturer Dr Stephen Ward said: "Politicians are worried about the low turnout and supposed political apathy among young people.

"This research should be studied closely by parties and pressure groups keen to engage them in politics.

"While most political organisations are online, they are failing to tap the internet's growing potential to get their message across.

"Yet with over half the population now online, there is a surprisingly strong appetite for political information.

"The internet may not revolutionise political participation, but it can make a difference, especially with young people."