The Schools Minister, Charles Clarke, has warned of the emergence of an underclass of children who do not have computers at home.

He said that while many children were using PCs at home for educational purposes as well as playing games, "a substantial number" did not have such access.

Mr Clarke, addressing the British Education and Training Technology exhibition in London, said the government was aiming to prevent the gap from widening.

Alastair Wells suggests that schools could give priority use of computers to pupils who do not have access to PCs at home

"Large numbers of children are using their PCs at home, but a key element is the have-nots," he said.

Ensuring that all pupils could have access to computers through after-school homework clubs was a priority for the government, Mr Clarke said.

"Our job is to ensure that in school and out of school, there is a real opportunity for all children to use computers regularly," he told reporters after his speech.

A possible solution to this inequality of access, according to another speaker at the BETT '99 exhibition, would be for schools to give greater time on computers, during lunch times or in the evenings, to pupils who do not have computers at home.

Alastair Wells, head of information and communications technology at The Netherhall School in Cambridge, said that the growth of interest in the Internet and e-mail meant that demand from pupils was outstripping the computer time that schools could make available.

Mr Clarke also announced a £4m programme to equip special educational needs co-ordinators with laptop computers to create an "online community" to pool ideas and expertise.