Five questions about: Getting online

Isn't that a picture of World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks?

It sure is. He's backing a new campaign to encourage older people to get online. As a former goalie, Banks's involvement allows the use of puns linking a football net with the internet.

That's a little lame. But surely everyone's using the internet now?

Far from it. Official figures suggest more than 5.1 million pensioners have never been online. Barclays reckons that them not using the internet costs it a collective £3.78bn a year.

Really? How on earth do they work that out?

Well, a typical older internet user saves around £61 a month thanks to shopping-comparison sites, lower travel costs and generally cheaper shopping online. That adds up to a decent £742 saving a year, more than the cost of a tablet.

Crikey. So what should older people do?

There may be free courses at local libraries where they can get a feel for using the internet, or younger members of the family can probably lend a helping hand. Also, Barclays has set up 3,500 "Digital Eagles in branches to help.

And how's Gordon Banks getting on?

"Access to the internet has opened a whole new world," he claims. "I've been watching You Tube clips of my Pele save and catching up on Emmerdale."