The swimmer declared that she is ‘in love with Lanzarote’ and was delighted to participate in a promotional campaign to highlight the island´s sporting credentials, with a display of her aquatic skills in the beautiful pool at the Jameos.

Also often chosen were Pablo, Alejandro, Diego and Hugo for boys and Lucia, Carla, Sofia, Sara and Paula for girls. A particular preference for Daniela was noted in Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Tenerife. Whilst Hugo was selected ahead of the other boys names on Lanzarote.

The smaller islands of La Palma and La Gomera showed a preference for Nerea, Valeria and Lucia as girls names. On El Hierro, Adriana and Dayana were the two most popular female choices, with Pablo, Gabriel and Aaron often selected for the boys.

The survey covered all births in the Canary Islands during 2009, when 18,952 children were born, a fall of approximately a thousand births in comparison with the previous year.

The new website ‘taxitourlanzarote.com’ will allow users to book a cab in advance and pay by debit or credit card. The page will be available in three languages to start with, Spanish, English and German.

In future, each municipality will offer the same on-line service to cover the whole island and new offices are set to be opened in the main tourist resorts, with Costa Teguise next in line for a more technologically friendly service.

The trials take place between 18th and 24th July and participants are expected from throughout the Canary Islands and Spain. 80% of those who practice the sport in Spain are located in the Canarian archipelago.

High speed water skiing can see aficionados reach up to 125 kilometres per hour and is considered a high risk sport as a result. The competition will focus on not only the speed attained by each participant but also the number of circuits they are able to complete within a specific time frame.

The event is being arranged in conjunction with the ferry company Naviera Armas, Marina Rubicon and the Princesa Yaiza Hotel.

Also noted were two periods during the month when the temperature dropped considerably, most notably on 5th March and again between 11th and 16th March. During this second period, the fall made air temperatures noticeably colder than normal, with as little as -6ºC registered in the mountainous areas of Tenerife. However, by the end of the month, higher than usual temperatures were being recorded in Gran Canaria, with 27ºC registered.

In terms of rainfall, there were two distinct depressions over the islands. The first of which commenced at the beginning of the month, with wet weather experienced on the 3rd and 4th of March, although the amount of rainfall at this point was not particularly heavy apart from during isolated showers. There was, however, snowfall during these two days in areas above 2,000 metres on Gran Canaria.

The second low pressure front came in from Madeira on 12th March, with persistent rain recorded between 11th and 15th of the month. The colder air temperatures that accompanied this front saw snowfall across the two largest islands at above 1300 metres. The areas which registered the highest amount of precipitation were Tafira and Los Silos, with almost 50 millimetres per hour noted.

And whilst strong gusts of wind were noted during the depression between 11th and 15th March, the wind was noticeably absent in February and the rest of March. Whilst air temperatures were considerably lower at night, especially in coastal areas during these two months and significantly lower during the second depression in March.

The Atlantico Commercial Centre in the heart of the strip, on the Avenida de las Playas, has long been GCHQ for the PR´s.  And the mayor of Tias, José Juan Cruz Saavedra, indicated yesterday that the local police will be initiating action against those establishments which choose to promote themselves in this way, with a view to stamping out this rather outdated form of marketing.  Which has long been a bugbear for many visitors to the island´s most popular resort.

This figure is though much in line with the rest of the Canaries and Spain.  With over 11% of the total adult population also admitting to enjoying a regular drink, consuming alcohol four times or more per week.

AEMET  has just confirmed that the final month of 2010 was one of the fifth warmest Decembers on record with average daily temperatures hitting  20.7º C on the coast and of 15.3ºC in central areas. And only December 2009 has exceeded these temperatures in the last decade.

In addition, with only an average of 41mm of rainfall, it was also the third driest month of the decade, with only December 2003 and 2006 seeing lower levels of precipitation.

In terms of computer ownership, 77% of all Canarian houses possess either a laptop (44%) or desk top computer (55%). And of the 70% of homes with access to the Internet, 68% of them have broadband connections. The rise in Internet usage has been particularly noticeable over the last four years, as in 2006 only 39% of all Canarian homes were connected, with only 37% of these users signed up for broadband.

Web users in Lanzarote lead the way in internet shopping, with 21% of the population purchasing goods online during the last three months. Unsurprisingly the youngest age groups tend to use the web most, with 90.6% of 16-29 year olds regularly surfing the net. Although online shoppers tend to be in the age range of 30-44 year olds, a reflection of their greater spending capacity. Whilst only 15% of 65-74 year olds have got to grips with the new technology.

A poll conducted by Trip Advisor, which polled 902 British travellers, found that the number of tourists booking a UK break looks set to fall by at least 6% in 2011.  With 66% of Britons planning at least one long haul holiday during the course of next year, despite the current economic climate.

Trip Advisor spokesperson Emma O’Boyle, said: “Overall, 2011 looks more positive for both travellers and the travel industry. Britons intend to travel more often and will spend more money doing so, but will proceed with caution as the industry emerges slowly from a very difficult year.”