An estimated 77% of UK adults ages 16 and older, or 38.3 million people, use the internet regularly in 2010, according to recent data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). More than 30 million individuals now go online every day, or almost every day, and 73% of all households have web access.

Most members of the online family in the UK are doing well, using internet services more and also developing new habits as innovative options emerge.

For example, email is not only alive but thriving, used by an estimated 90% of the UK internet population. Finding information on goods and services was the second most popular activity (75%), followed by travel and accommodation services (63%). More than half of web-enabled adults said they banked online; 51% said they accessed news or magazine content.

E-commerce is going strong too. An estimated 31 million shoppers paid for something on the web in the 12 months prior to polling, said the ONS. More than half (52%) purchased clothes, while 47% bought films and music online; 24% had bought groceries and food.

At the same time, mobile web use is up sharply. Some 31% of web users said they went online via mobile phone in 2010, compared to 23% in 2009.  Among younger users (ages 16 to 24), an estimated 44% browse the internet on their phones. In addition, researchers reported, 2.7 million people used wireless hot-spots in early 2010.

TV is a big draw, with roughly 17 million people streaming television content from the web. Men were more than twice as likely to do this—perhaps because they are more likely to seek out snippets of news, sports or financial coverage during the day. Or perhaps women make more effort to watch when their favorite programs are broadcast. Whatever the reason, the ONS found that 52% of male web users had used video-on-demand services like the BBC iPlayer and Channel 4’s 4oD, compared to 23% of women.

So online merchants, mobile operators, broadcasters and video content owners are among the parties best pleased by these statistics. Advertisers and marketers will be happy too, as the heavy usage and significant spending power of their online audiences are confirmed once more. Among individuals with incomes of £41,600 ($65,300) and over, an estimated 98% are internet users.

Yet some results make discouraging reading for those in the government and the services sector who hope to shift more operations to digital channels. While internet use is virtually universal among adults ages 16 to 24, for example, the opposite end of the age spectrum is still poorly represented. Three-fifths of people 65 and older have never gone online, the ONS estimated. This may persuade the Conservative-Liberal coalition that spending on internet delivery of social services such as pensions advice is not warranted, especially when widespread cuts to IT budgets are looming.