A new concludes that the rise of high-speed internet and the explosion in online video content is fueling a worldwide decline in the number of people watching television.

According to a new international study by Ofcom, which sampled a thousand people in each country polled, around one-third of consumers with broadband access watch less television since going online, reports Reuters.

Alongside tech-savvy younger generations watching traditional TV channels on their PC or laptop, more and more people are using instant messaging, blogging, social networking sites such as MySpace and user-generated content sites like YouTube, allowing those users to tailor media consumption to their personal tastes and ditch sit-and-watch viewing habits.

Ofcom said the Netherlands (58 percent), Sweden (45 percent) and Japan (44 percent) had the highest percentage of their populations connected to high speed broadband, while China led the world in the percentage of people watching music videos and television programs over broadband. The U.K. led in music downloads, while making phone calls over the internet was most popular in France.