MINISTERS must act urgently to close the gaping "digital divide" between town and country - or jeopardise businesses and jobs in rural parts of Worcestershire.

A group of MPs say the Government should focus on introducing lightning-fast broadband internet links to the countryside - ensuring remote villages are not left behind in the information revolution.

If rural businesses such as farms cannot access high-speed internet connections they will fail to compete - and risk going to the wall, warned the Commons' influential Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.

But they accepted it was expensive to introduce broadband technology to communities with only a handful of homes, shops and services.

"It is counter-productive to have allowed a 'digital divide' to open up between urban and rural areas," MPs on the committee concluded.

"The Government argues that broadband is essential to ensure competitiveness and efficiency.

"It is therefore hugely unfair that many rural communities may not be able to gain from broadband - at least not for the time being."

To stop rural areas being disadvantaged, Defra must identify isolated communities, develop policies to make it easier to access broadband and invest "adequate" funds, said the committee.

They said it was "counter-productive" for Ministers to encourage farmers and other rural workers to access Government services electronically when there were still broadband black spots.

The committeeaccepted it was "unreasonable" for internet providers to take the full financial hit, but urged business groups and local councils to join together to roll out the technology across Britain.

More than two million people in Britain have access to the web via broadband connections - instead of by a "dial-up" service via a slower telephone line, which is much slower.