A quarter of staff waste a working day every two weeks aimlessly browsing the internet, according to research by YouGov.

The research, which was commissioned by moneysupermarket.com, claims that seven in 10 of the UK's 34m internet users admit to 'Wilfing' - standing for What Was I looking For? - both at work and in the home.

Employees are distracted by the sheer amount of information available on the internet, the research suggests, meaning staff who appear hard at work could actually be booking holidays, emailing friends or even doing their weekly shop during working hours.

Almost one in four people surveyed said they wasted 30% or more of their internet time going from one web page to another, the equivalent of a working day every fortnight.

'Our study shows that although people log on with a purpose they are now being offered so much choice and online distraction that many forget what they are there for and spend hours aimlessly Wilfing instead,' said Jason Lloyd, head of broadband at Moneysupermarket.com.

'It is important that people do not allow distractions to get in the way while surfing the internet as it can affect productivity in the workplace and relationships at home,' he added.

The most likely group to be affected by Wilfing was men aged under 25, the poll of 2,400 web users suggested, with pop-up adverts and adult entertainment sites the main distractions. Men aged 55 were three times less likely to succumb to the temptation of Wilfing, the research found.

The phenomenon can also have potentially devastating consequences for individuals' home lives, the study suggests, with a third of males claiming the practice has had a damaging effect on their relationship with a partner.

One in five men admitted to being distracted by adult sites, the poll discovered.