A university-centred European Union link analysis

University web sites play an important role in facilitating a wide range of types of communication. This paper reports an analysis of international academic linking in Europe, with particular reference to European Union (EU) integration. The Microsoft search service was used to calculate international interlinking to universities and from universities. Four different web topologies were found for the link structure data and poorly connected countries were identified. The results show the expected EU dominance of the large richer Western European nations, particularly the UK and Germany. The new EU countries are not yet integrated into the EU web but some show strong regional connections.