He said this contradicts the myth that significant social and technological hurdles are keeping certain groups offline.

Women account for 58 per cent of the university population yet represented 61 per cent of participants in online forums, he found. And although 52 per cent of students were from Melbourne and 36 per cent from Sydney, they composed just 49 and 27 per cent of the online population respectively.

Online activity drops off markedly after age 20, with those in the 20-30 age bracket the least likely to go online, with fewer than 60 per cent of them participating. But as students get older they are more inclined to go online, Burr found, rising to more than 70 per cent - equal to teen use - for those aged 51 and older.

Burr, who was manager of the university's online efforts for five years, said he was amazed at the results.

"This goes against the three things that are said to be hurdles to studying online - that it is male-dominated, that it is only for the young and that those living in rural areas are disadvantaged," Burr said.

"This shows that if people see a real need to be online they will find a way. We found the same thing happened with people from rural areas."

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald