A US state has decided that a broadband connection is as much a human right as electricity and running water.

The Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC), which builds low-income housing in the state, has listed broadband internet access among the inalienable rights of its residents.

According to Wired magazine, the KHC passed a mandate stating that all new housing units funded by more than 50 per cent by the KHC must be equipped with access to high-speed internet services.

A spokesman said that eventually everyone is going to have a computer and a printer, just like they have a refrigerator and an oven.

Public housing authorities in Nebraska, Oregon and Wisconsin have also pushed housing developers to wire for broadband by giving them preferential access to low-income housing tax credits.

However, Kentucky is the first state to actually require the practice.

The KHC is also working on programmes to provide poor families with low-cost computer hardware, subsidised internet access and a special online portal where they can search for jobs and learn about available health care and financial resources.