It is a view often screamed from newspaper headlines, but is Britain really just a land of ASBOs and clashing communities? According to this week’s report by the National Association of Estate Agents, the answer is no: nine in ten of us get on well with those living next door. Northerners are the most friendly, with 95 per cent of those surveyed stating that they have “quite good” or “very good” neighbourly relations.

But in this time-starved age neighbour-networking is yet another duty vying for our precious attention. Fortunately it is also an activity which is increasingly achievable online: www.myneighbourhoods.co.uk is a new website that will enable you to get to know the locals without actually having to meet them. This free site is still in the early stages of development, but it will have forums, a directory of local services with user recommendations and classified listings. There are currently about 500 members, mostly in London and users are catching on quick — one woman in N22 is already setting up a jogging/brisk walking group.

A similar website for families is www.rhysko.co.uk. It was set up by Mary Woodhouse, a family lawyer, to find friends for her toddlers after moving to a new area. The website is currently free, and users can forge virtual communities in their area. The website was launched in November and membership numbers are still quite low — I found only six other subscribers in London — but more people are signing up every week.

If you want to tap into a website with a bit more critical mass, follow the example of blue chips such as IBM and Sun Microsystems: they have used the digital online world of Second Life (http://secondlife.com/) to create communities where real-life execs can network. Adapt the idea for the people on your street by getting them to join Second Life and inviting them round for virtual tea and biscuits. Or you could ignore the real world and create your very own SL community from scratch— but don’t expect it be be any less time-sapping.

lucia.adams@timesonline.co.uk

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