A new survey by LexisNexis Industrial Relations Services has found that, over the past year, nearly one in three companies have disciplined staff for breaking company Internet and e-mail rules:

Misuse of e-mails and the Internet in the workplace has become a big headache for employers, and UK companies are increasingly disciplining staff for accessing racy Web sites or sending porn to colleagues.

Internet access and e-mail have become indispensable parts of working life, bringing with them widespread abuse as an increasing number of workers use corporate e-mail accounts to send personal messages and the Web to do their own shopping.

A number of companies have begun to crack down, drafting codes of conduct in an effort to regulate employees' use of the firms' high-speed Internet connections.

The crackdown has become more important in the past year as companies have been hit by damaging computer worms and viruses planted in e-mails and brought in by errant Web surfing.