Accessing the internet on Japan's mobile phones has become so fast and easy that many young people have forsaken computers.

Between 2000 and 2006, the proportion of Japanese 20-year-olds using home PCs to access the internet plummeted from 23.6 per cent to 11.9 per cent, according to figures released by Net Ratings.

In Japan, gadget-obsessed 20-year-olds now have mobile phones that can surf between three high-definition PC websites at a time, handle Flash software, and download Word, Excel and PDF files at rapid speed.