UK retailer PC World has seen sales of webcams shoot up in the last year and the company reckons that the YouTube phenomenon is the cause.

Interest in the video-sharing site where visitors can contribute their own content has led to a spike in sales of nearly 50 per cent in PC World stores.

"Webcams have been on sale in our stores for several years and suddenly in the last twelve months, unit sales have rocketed 48 per cent," said Brian Magratch, commercial director at PC World.

"There's no question that this is being fuelled by the YouTube phenomenon."

Magrath pointed out that most households now have broadband connections and PCs with video-editing software installed, so creating home videos and posting them online is a natural progression.

“Today, most reasonably equipped homes have enough technology to enable 37 Acacia Avenue to broadcast to a global audience in the hundreds of millions. Most have more technology available to them than a state-of-the-art broadcaster would have had as recently as a decade ago," he said.

www.webuser.co.uk