Businesses in rural areas are being prevented from taking advantage of social media sites by their inability to access a fast and reliable broadband service, according to the Country Land & Business Association (CLA).

Yorkshire landowner and president of the organisation William Worsley said research published last week by Ofcom showed there is a clear digital divide between urban and rural communities in the UK, with this gap growing wider.

More than 16 per cent of homes in Yorkshire are unable to receive speeds of 2Mbps - the government's benchmark figure for broadband - with this issue replicated in remote locations across the country.

As a result of this issue, residents and businesses are being prevented from using new technologies such as Facebook and Twitter, which will cause the digital gap to widen, Mr Worsley claimed.

He argued rural-based firms will struggle to remain competitive due to this lack of access, while householders will become "socially excluded".

"The CLA has long recognised the growing importance of communicating digitally and aims to help rural areas get up to speed with their urban counterparts," Mr Worsley remarked.

"However, the lack of a suitable broadband connection makes it nearly impossible for rural businesses and communities to communicate.

"The countryside sees the enormous advantages of social media but is frustrated that it cannot play a part."

Research published last month by Hitwise highlighted the advantages that Facebook offers to businesses.

According to the online competitive intelligence firm, each new friend acquired by businesses on the social network translates to 20 additional visits to their website over the course of a year.

One in every six pages visited by internet users in the UK is related to Facebook, with browsers in this country spending an average of 20 million hours on the site every day.

More than 750 million people actively use Facebook. 

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