Women are showing more attention to e-retail, according to new research.

Deutsche Card Services, part of Deutsche Bank, has published a survey showing women now play a greater role in European online retailing, than men.

In 2007 the E-tail Report, revealed that men made 12 per cent more transactions on the internet than women.

The most recent survey however, showed that women initiated 61.35 per cent of all purchases online, throughout Europe.

The study also suggested that online retail is more popular outside of major urban areas, than it is in Europe's larger cities.

Data provider Eurostat found that last year, UK residents were more likely to make online purchases, than any other nation inside the EU.