Young women are spending an increasing amount of time online.

According to research conducted by Nielsen/Netratings, British females aged between 18 and 34 were on the internet 27 per cent longer than their male counterparts over the course of March.

Overall, women in this age group were reported to account for about a quarter of Britain's total internet users.

Nielsen spokesperson Alex Burmaster suggested that as a result, online advertisers could be well advised to target those in this age range.

He said: "Companies who understand this [demographic] composition when providing services or content through the web or simply advertising online will maximise their chances of success in the internet of the future."

Senior eMarketer analyst Karin von Abrams added that the internet is "an invaluable tool" for these users.

Meanwhile, a study by bigmouthmedia indicates 23 per cent of women see search engine Google as being too commercial, in comparison to 35 per cent of men.