More than half of employers in the UK report new employees expect them to provide social networking facilities at work.

Research carried out by software company Open Text's Web Solutions Group found a further 32% expected to see an increase in demand for social networking technologies in the near future.

More than six out of 10 employers (61%) think tools such as Facebook could be used to benefit their enterprise. However, less than half (46%) of employees reported they could use Facebook and 31% said they could only use it at certain times of the day.

Andy Bellinger, country manager for Open Text's Web Solutions Group, said: "This growing demand for the likes of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other web 2.0 technologies is a direct reflection of how people have changed the way they communicate.

"As the web generation grows up and moves into the workforce, businesses need to be ready to offer the communication tools they expect. The days of the company newsletter are gone, the company Facebook is in."