One in three 9-to-16 year olds say they secretly access the internet without their parents' permission, while around half believe they know more about how the internet works than their "old folks", new government-funded research has found.

The study of 700 school students who use the internet also found that almost three out of ten said their parents never check up on them while they surf.

More than half also revealed that their parents do not use 'nanny' filtering software to block sites they do not wish them to access. This suggests they can access adult-themed content if they wish to do so.

The research, of children in 37 schools, was undertaken by the government-funded National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE).

It also revealed that 27% of young internet users say they have met someone new on the world wide web who asked them for personal information. This included asking them for their photo, phone number, street or the school they attend.

However, in a sign that young users are increasingly "savvy" when it comes to handing out such information, just 4% said they gave the person in question all of the information they asked for.

Asked about their parents' involvement with the internet, 47% of respondents said their parents in general know less about the internet than they do. 27% said that when they use the internet at home, their parents never check in on them, although 68% said their parents do so either sometimes or often.

44% said their parents never check what sites they have visited, while 55% said their parents never use filters to block sites they do not want them to visit.

But half of respondents also said it is possible for them to use the internet somewhere without their parents knowing about it, or finding out.

More than one in three said they have used the internet either many times or sometimes when they were not allowed to by their parents.

Simon Grehan of NCTE noted that other EU-wide research showed that Irish parents were more likely than their counterparts in 27 other countries to have rules and restrictions in place on net use.