Media mogul Rupert Murdoch last night told an Oxford audience that the students of the future could be studying at a "cyber" university on the Internet, writes Madeleine Pennell.

Speaking at the Sheldonian Theatre, Broad Street, Oxford, he gave the last in the Builders of the Millennium lecture series held by University College to celebrate its 750th anniversary.

He said that the World Bank estimated there were 17 million people in the world at university and that figure was rising. A former student at Worcester College, Oxford, Mr Murdoch said: "New technology is forcing us to revise our idea of a university. Governments know they cannot afford to maintain the same standards of university education and the answer lies in the technology that allows students to access their tutors on a global campus."

His speech, Technology, Demography and Other Hard Facts Facing the Builders of the Millennium gave his vision for the future. It touched on a wide range of topics, from promoting family values to the effects on society of the growth in the internet. He said that new technology was bringing more power to the individual and cutting out the middle men and big institutions.

Individuals could now know as much as a pension fund manager through the Internet, he added.

The Internet also made it easier for high earners to escape to "tax havens" and carry on working which meant governments could lose revenue.

Mr Murdoch praised Prime Minster Tony Blair's idea that social justice was about mutual responsibility.

He added: "Those who can work must, those who refuse to work lose our compassion."

Story date: Thursday 02 December

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.