WASHINGTON, United States (AP):

Many more white schoolchildren use the Internet than Hispanic and black students in the United States, a reminder that going online is hardly a way of life for everyone.

Two of every three white students use the Internet, but fewer than half the blacks and Hispanics do, according to federal data released yesterday. The specific numbers are 67 per cent for whites, 44 per cent for Hispanics and 47 per cent for blacks.

"This creates incredible barriers for minorities," said Mark Lloyd, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and an expert on how communications influence civil rights.

Not using the Internet "narrows their ability to even think about the kind of work they can be doing," Lloyd said. "It doesn't prepare them for a world in which they're going to be expected to know how to do these things."

The new data comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, an arm of the Education Department. It is based on a national representative survey of households in 2003.

Nursery school

Overall, 91 per cent of students in nursery school through 12th grade use computers; 59 per cent use the Internet.

Yet, within those numbers, the digital divide between groups is a national problem.

Studies have shown that access to the Internet and the ability to use it improve people's learning, job prospects and daily living.

Schools are trying to close the gaps.

Virtually all U.S. schools are connected to the Internet.

The gaps in Internet usage between whites and minorities, though sizable, are smaller during the school day.

That is not the case at home.

Of white students, 54 per cent use the Internet at home, compared with 26 per cent of Hispanic and 27 per cent of black youngsters. Limited access can erode a student's ability to research assignments, explore college scholarships or just get comfortable going online.

The racial divide in computer usage is tied to broader problems, including poverty in black and Latino communities and even a cultural reluctance to use the Internet, Lloyd said.

Among other students, 58 per cent of Asian children and 47 per cent of American Indian students use the Internet.