Tories to make UK 'e-capital of the world'

A TORY government would deliver superfast broadband links and slash £400million in job advertising costs under plans to make the UK the world's most "e-friendly" country.

The party's Technology Manifesto, launched today in the East End, pledged to open up Whitehall data to the public and help to ensure the next generation of Googles, Facebooks and Microsofts are British companies.

A new national broadband network will extend 100mbps connections across most of the population, up to 50 times faster than Labour's planned system, the party said.

It also aim to cut costs drastically by putting all public sector jobs online rather than paying for ads in news- papers. Some Conservatives believe the move will, at a stroke, cripple The Guardian's income stream and result in "payback" for the paper's coverage of their policies.

The manifesto claims the Tories will seek to boost hi-tech industries in a move away from the UK's reliance on financial services for its income.