LONDON – A recent “investigation” by British newspaper Newsbeat uncovered a trend that really shouldn’t surprise anyone: In the current sluggish economy, women increasingly are turning to the Web to make a living, many as webcam models. Further examination of the numbers placed quite a few of the distaff entrepreneurs in the adult entertainment industry.

“Market analysts say the overall webcam market is now worth more than a billion pounds, with online sex shows a big part of it,” Newsbeat reporter Duncan Crawford wrote in an exposé published Monday. “Industry insiders say there’s been a rise in applications, partly fuelled by the recession, with hundreds of British women signing up to UK websites each month; many more internationally. They appear live on webcams that can be accessed on computers around the world. Men usually pay premium rates for the privilege [of watching].”

As Crawford describes the ersatz studios in which some models work, they don’t sound all that attractive. Two young women with whom he spoke wore “fancy underwear” and plied their trade from a sparsely furnished basement.

The money, however, is encouraging. According to Crawford, the models can make up to £30 an hour, including bonuses and tips.

Between 2006 and 2008, the webcam industry reportedly grew from about $1.2 billion to about $1.8 billion. Analysts expect the market to nearly double in revenues by 2015, based in large part on predicted growth in the mobile segment. Although they didn’t break down the figures based on category of adult content, Juniper Research analysts anticipate mobile adult services overall will increase from about $2.14 billion in 2008 to $4.8 billion by 2013. The projection could be significantly under reality, considering the size of the market. The most popular British webcam site claims 27,000 models, 17 million members and 12,000 new signups daily. Another British site told Newsbeat it has added an average of 42 women monthly to its roster of performers.

According to one webmaster, talent is easy to come by these days.

“A lot of women in this sort of economic downturn will move into the adult industry,” Brodie Fry told Newsbeat. “This is a safe alternative to becoming an escort or an adult model [in the brick-and-mortar world]. There’s total anonymity. Of course, the operators don’t use their real names.”

Another British webcam site owner told Newsbeat he is signing up an average of 150 new models monthly.

“We started off with 12 profiles, and there would be one girl working during the day,” Richard Smallbone said. “Eighteen months down the line, we now have 80 different profiles; anything up to 16 girls working during the day.”

All is not rosy for the women who work in the industry, according to critics.

“It is the man who decides which women he wants to choose, depending on what she looks like and how she’s willing to behave sexually,” Anna van Heeswijk, a spokeswoman for women’s rights organization Object, told Newsbeat. “This puts enormous pressure on women within the industry to perform more and more extreme versions of pornography in order to attract men, in order to make a living.”