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Find out how the internet can make shopping easier and quicker.

Steve, aged 42

Steve likes booking holidays on the internet. He's part of a family which is football mad—all of them are Newcastle United season ticket holders. At the moment, Steve is planning a once-in-a-lifetime family holiday trip to Disneyland in the summer. He’s been saving up forever and he’s been using the internet to find the cheapest flights and hotels and book them online. He’s also been checking the website of the Florida Tourist Board just to find out what the weather is going to be like. Apparently it’s meant to be always sunny but he’s heard about tornadoes and hurricanes and wants to check.

Gemma, aged 14

Gemma likes checking football websites. She's just as mad about football as her brother and reckons she knows more about Newcastle United than anyone in her class. Gemma’s computer’s home page is set to be the Newcastle United website and throughout the season she checks on the table positions and reads the latest club news so she can keep up to date.

Luke, aged 12

Luke likes looking for football kit on the internet. He plays in a football team on Saturday mornings. Luke says he’s the best footballer in his family and he often talks to his friends on MSN about how his team and the Magpies are getting on. He’s found some websites which offer special online discounts on the new strip and according to Luke it’s good luck if you watch a home game in the latest kit. The other day, Luke’s Dad bid on eBay for signed copies of some match programmes to add to their family collection. The auction closes next week and Luke can’t wait to see if their bid was high enough.

Margie, Luke and Gemma's Gran

Meet Margie, Luke and Gemma’s Gran. When she came to stay with the family last Christmas she really got into using the computer and Luke and Gemma were able to teach her the basics.

Margie is a big wild life fanatic and loved going onto the wildlife pages on the BBC website. We were able to set up the computer a bit differently for her so that the font size was larger making it easier for her to read and use the mouse. We then set her up with her own user account which saved all these settings. She’s going to buy a computer later on this year and we’ll be able to set it up for her so its more accessible. Dad said you can even install software which will make the computer read aloud the contents of a webpage. Nan loves the idea of that as she says she can’t see everything these days.

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