SAGA Zone is a new online community where you create a whole new social network of friends and easily stay in touch from the comfort of your home.

You can create your own personal profile page and share your interests in online forums. You can even write your own web diary, or blog. You will even be able to set up your own photo gallery and enjoy live instant chats.

It's free and simple to join.

Created by Saga Group, the insurance and holiday company, Saga Zone is the new social networking site for the over-50s. The site, which has been running for a trial period of four months, has over 13,000 users already - a number which is set to increase dramatically now that the site is officially open.

Andrew Goodsell, the group chief executive of Saga, said yesterday: "The internet is a place where the over-50s are thriving. Saga Zone is a place where they can mingle and chat about issues important to them, be they amusing or serious."

Contrary to popular belief, statistics issued by Ofcom, the communications regulator, in August suggest that so called silver surfers are devotees of the computer screen.

A poll of 15,740 people aged over 50 in the UK showed that the "grey pound" was helping to drive the online economy. Nearly three quarters of respondents had bought flights online while the same percentage had bought books over the internet and 67% had bought electrical items.

Never too old to surf

• 50% of over-55s have access to the web
• 7% look for love online
• 22% play games such as bingo
• 43% regularly buy and sell on eBay

Surfers over 50 account for nearly a third of all time spent online by British web users. "It's a myth that older people are put off by technology," said Nick Parker, deputy editor of the Oldie magazine. "Our experience is that older people are very effective users of the internet."

Sites such as Friends Reunited have proved popular among older surfers. Although there are no age limits on networks such as Facebook or MySpace, the sites are heavily populated by younger users. So far the oldest user of Saga Zone is 87.

If you are interested in finding out what all the fuss is about, or would like to sign up to Saga Zone CLICK HERE to go directly to the Saga Zone website!