Peter Beardsley and e-Envoy go online in Newcastle

The offer is part of a wider UK Government initiative to get as many people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, online.

Anyone using one of the government's public drop-in centres in Newcastle during March will be able to use the internet for free.

They could also win tickets to a Newcastle United match or one of a set of 10 signed football shirts.

Take-up is low

There is no point putting services online if no-one comes Spokesman for e-Envoy

Internet take-up in the North-East is low compared to the more affluent areas of the country.

Around 36% of households are online, compared to about half in the South-East.

The government is keen to increase the number of people using its public net kiosks, of which there are 7,000 across the UK offering cheap or free access.

It also wants to see the numbers using e-government services dramatically increase. Only about 11% of the population currently interacts with the government online.

"There is no point putting services online if no-one comes," said a spokesman for the Office of the e-Envoy.

Beardsley on the net

The government is setting up partnerships with a variety of public bodies, including the charities Age Concern and Citizen's Online, to reach out to those that are not yet part of the digital revolution.

It is also running training courses at its UK Online centres to help people understand the basics of using the net.

And a variety of local community mobile net units will travel to some of the most deprived areas of the country, bringing access to those unlikely to use the public kiosks.

"The majority of the population live within a one mile radius of an online centre," said the e-Envoy's spokesman.

"But a lot of the centres are in libraries and other public buildings which some people still see as foreboding institutions," he added.

Ex-Newcastle footballer Peter Beardsley joined the e-Envoy Andrew Pinder to encourage people to use the internet at one of the UK Online centres in the city.