However, we are likely to dump slow-loading websites in favour of those that offer a more immediate experience, said 1&1 Internet, the company behind the research.

Andreas Gauger, chief executive of 1&1 Internet said, "Our research shows that with so many options available on the internet, consumers want information quickly. If a website fails to perform to their expectations it is quickly dismissed for another."

More than four out of five Britons aren't prepared to wait more than a minute for a site to load. Women are more patient than men, but men are one-and-a-half times more likely to report a broken site to the webmaster than women.

Waiting for websites to load doesn't just cost us time either, according to the company. It can also cause us to lose our tempers too, with 52 per cent of surfers admitting to suffering from 'web rage' when a site is slow to load.

Those in Northern Ireland were least likely to report a problem or seek assistance when faced with a slow website, but were more likely to suffer from extreme web rage, with some 22 per cent saying that slow loading sites makes them want "to throw their computers out of the window".

"Slow websites can be a major cause of stress for those who use them, and our research shows that consumers acknowledge that website owners are responsible for these frustrations," said Gauger.

http://www.1and1.co.uk/

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