Google has launched a new website to help what it calls Ireland's "younger generations" to teach their parents and older friends and relatives how to get the most from the internet.

GetYourFolksOnline.ie hopes to mobilise younger people across Ireland to pass their internet skills on to the older people in their lives.

According to ComReg, only 35pc of people over the age of 50 are using the internet, while the majority of people under the age of 50 are online. Google is calling on anyone who is in a position to help to check out the website, which has detailed lesson plans to help teach basic computer skills in an organised way.

"Older people are reluctant to ask family members for help, despite the fact that most people know someone in their own family, who would be well able to teach them," said Sinead Gibney, Google's head of social action. "Too often we think that because mum or dad can use email that they are comfortable with the internet.

"What we have found in the internet classes we hold for older people is that they very often know how to email but the vast range of other services online -- such as online banking, photo sharing or social networking -- are alien to them."

Google's Social Action team claims to have identified that when family members try to teach a parent internet skills, they do it in a very reactive fashion, usually when their parents are stuck and so 'fix' the immediate problem without really helping them understand what went wrong.

"Most often what we hear from older people attending the classes we hold with Age Action is that they get frustrated and their family member loses patience. This new site is aimed at helping overcome these issues," said Ms Gibney.

GetYourFolksOnline.ie has what are hoped to be easy-to-use lesson plans and tips for getting the most from the teaching experience. There are plans for you to teach complete beginners and improvers too.

This initiative is a partnership between Google and