NEVER mind York's links with Europe, the city's business people spend more time gabbing on the blower to Americans than they do to French or Germans.

That's the conclusion of an analysis by BT which shows that even though York is twinned with Dijon in France and Munster in Germany, York's business people spent more than 500,000 minutes - the equivalent of 1,162 working days - calling abroad.

Almost half of these calls were to the U.S., with Germany second, Ireland third, Spain fourth, France fifth and the Netherlands sixth. The balance of yakking time was spent connected to Belgium, Italy, South Africa and Canada. But the analysis also points out that York firms are missing out on more than £1 million in savings which might otherwise have accrued had they switched to BT Business Plan with its guarantees that no fixed line call to the U.S. or within the UK need cost more than 10p.

Craig Rowland, managing director of BT Business, said: "York businesses are clearly voting with their fingers in choosing the U.S. as their best suited twin. Although EU countries receive a lot of calls as well, York businesses would rather talk to America than most of Europe. Now they can do so safe in the knowledge that each call will cost no more than 10p."

Updated: 08:34 Tuesday, September 16, 2003