Brits go Xmas shopping online

British shoppers are shunning the overcrowded, freezing cold streets this winter to do their Christmas shopping via the internet, a report claims.

According to research from search engine Ask Jeeves, the modern Brit has ditched their winter woolies for the comfort of shopping from home.

Adrian Cox, chief executive at Ask Jeeves, said: "Our research shows that each year the popularity of shopping online increases and we anticipate that this year will be the same. Shopping should be fun, and for many people fighting their way through crowds on the high street is something that they dread."

Ask Jeeves reports that around 1.4 million shoppers visited the search engine in December 2002, with 61 per cent of queries during the first two weeks related to shopping.

Shoppers ordered items ranging from mobile phones and DVD players to the latest Lord of the Rings DVD and Tweenies toys.

According to Ask Jeeves, the most searched-for gift items so far this year range from CDs/DVDs for Dad, holidays for mums and, staging a comeback, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figures for the kids.

Ask Jeeves forecasts that the most popular Christmas presents in 2003 will be:

1 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures
2 Weekend holiday breaks
3 Camera Phones
4 Widescreen TV
5 MP3 Players
6 "Badge It" game
7 Lingerie
8 Flowers
9 Chocolates
10 CDs & DVDs