YOU'VE got a day off work. It's just you, an empty house and the computer - and for many women it's also the perfect time to do a bit of shopping.

For the first time women are spending more online than men - with the average bill coming in at £495.

With all the goods you could possibly want available at the click of a mouse, increasing numbers of women are deciding they don't want the inconvenience of a trip out to the high street.

A beauty technician at Blackburn College, Michelle Byrne, 33, has bought furniture, holidays, her wedding ring and even spotted her new house on the internet.

"It is addictive to a degree," said Michelle Byrne, 33, from Rawtenstall.

"You can get carried away and you start asking yourself, do I want to trawl around all the shops when I can go online?"

With a six-year-old daughter and a full time job, Michelle finds the convenience of the internet beats the hassle of high street shopping every time.

"I get my daughter off to bed, then I find I have an hour or so to myself when I just go online and have a look.

"Things are moving that fast - especially for working mums trying to juggle everything - and if online shopping is more convenient, then people will do it."

Michelle first began making purchases two years ago.

"At first I worried a bit more about things not arriving, or about typing out my credit card details on a computer," she said. "But when you've done it once, you think, 'That's easy'. And the more confident you get, the more adventurous you become."

Since then, Michelle has bought numerous kitchen appliances, purchased a package holiday in Portugal and even designed a personalised wedding ring online for her marriage to fiance Dave in October. So does she think online shopping will eventually replace the high street variety altogether?

"I don't think so," said Michelle. "I used to work in a department store, so I know how women like to look at things and try them on, and I think that element will always be there. But personally, I would rather spend an hour or so browsing online than trying to find a parking place in town on a weekend."

Fellow internet shopper Angela Molloy, 36, a management accountant from Little Harwood, finds herself similarly pushed for time.

With two young children to deal with, Angela says she's now doing most of her shopping on the internet.

"I do my grocery shopping every week and I buy books, CDs, kids' toys and clothes," she said. "It's much easier to do my shopping online than to have a big family outing with two small children."

Angela began to shop online 18 months ago. She finds part of the attraction is the range of choice and slightly cheaper prices.

"You can go shopping locally and find the books or CDs you want just aren't there," she said. "On the internet you can find everything you want and it's slightly cheaper. This week I found Blake's Seven CD box set for £34 on the net - that's £10 cheaper than on the high street."

For some people, disaster stories of birthday presents not arriving in time or the wrong parcels being delivered have put them off internet shopping.

But Angela said: "I've only had a couple of incidents where things haven't arrived and it's usually quite easy to sort out. And sending things back isn't a problem."

And with computers playing an increasing part in all our lives, it seems the internet shopping trend can only continue to grow.