Research into the social effects of technology has found that some sectors of society are in danger of being entirely cut off from the benefits of new devices that keep people in touch while they travel.

The report also reveals that mobile phones, teleworking and laptops often prove a burden rather than a boon to those trying to balance home and work life.

The authors of the report said the time was right for bold action by the UK Government to ensure the changes brought about by novel technologies did not prove too disruptive.

Home help

The internet, laptop computers, ubiquitous mobile phone networks and broadband links were supposed to help overcome the divisions between rich and poor and town and country.

But a joint study by IBM and Local Futures, which researches the geography of social change, has found that, far from uniting Britain, new technologies are serving to deepen divisions.

Making information easy to get at everywhere is not helping those in rural areas, reports the research.

Instead, the study found that the biggest users of teleworking and mobile technologies are companies and individuals found in towns, cities and suburbs.

Now organisations such as Parcelforce and utility companies are using handheld computers to keep a closer eye on staff productivity and working patterns.

Breaking point

The technologies are not always a blessing for those that use them to spend less time in the office.

The report said that some employers were taking advantage of the fact that employees were always available, to lengthen the working day and get more out of them.