Prince Andrew has revealed how his daughters - Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie - help him solve his computer problems.

The Prince spoke during a goodwill visit to the US where he met a range of UK web designers making it big across the Atlantic.

My kids are fairly hip and up-to-date with the way things are going as far as the internet is concerned

Prince Andrew

Security concerns which have held back some from buying online, did not appear to have worried the Prince, who admitted to being a long-term web consumer.

"I've bought a number of things on the web over the last few years. I started using the web when it was fairly new and it was going fairly slowly.

"I also use it on a not infrequent basis for information," added the Prince, who said a priority now was to teach teachers in the UK about the internet so they in turn can teach their pupils and so end the skills shortage.

Children vs grown-ups

As a long-term surfer the Prince said he knew who he had to turn to when things started to go wrong with his computer.

"My kids, who are fairly hip and up-to-date with the way things are going as far as the internet is concerned, [say] 'don't ask a grown-up to fix it - ask a kid to do' it.

Prince: Easier to telephone for help

"Children are much more willing to play and experiment whereas a grown-up thinks 'this is how it is supposed to work'. The logic steps taken are different."

He said that he found it hard to find time in his schedule just to play around and experiment with his computer, and so learn how to fix things.

"It is still easier to make a telephone call and say 'help - it's not quite working the way I thought it was supposed to, is there something you can do?'."

The Queen's dot.com stake

At the moment he is trying to correct a glitch which means his computer is working in London but not at his home.

The Prince, interviewed by the BBC's World Business Report, paid tribute to the UK web designers who had broken into the US markets in what he described as "reverse engineering".

"Web design was brought across from the US to the UK and we are now bringing back over here... the UK designers are probably some of the best in the field and we are going out there and taking market share."

Prince Andrew is not the first member of the British Royal Family to show an interest in the internet - his mother, the Queen, has financial stakes in at least one dot.com.

The Prince made his comments while visiting web design company Bluewave.