Steve Jobs and Sir Tim Berners-Lee baffle the Brits

Steve who? One in 20 surveyed thought Steve Jobs was a footballer.

Leading technology figures may have an image problem in the UK, according to a survey.

In a poll of 1000 British people, 20% had never heard of Apple chief executive Steve Jobs and a further 10% thought he worked for a trade union.

Fifteen percent believed that web creator Sir Tim Berners-Lee was either head of MI5 or an Arctic explorer.

Microsoft boss Bill Gates was the most well-known but 5% of the group thought he was a comedian or a famous thief.

Technology buzzwords were also found to be open to misinterpretation.

One in ten respondents to the light-hearted survey thought that a wireless dongle was a sex toy and 6% affirmed that VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) was a sexually transmitted disease.

Social networking sites also stumped 11% of the group who were unable to name a single one. Facebook was the most commonly known, with 72% name-checking the global site, while only 12% picked out Twitter.

It suggests that the technology industry needs to be more accessible, says Lewis PR, the firm behind the survey.

"This demonstrates a need for everyone involved in the industry to speak about technology and the benefits it brings clearly and succinctly," said spokesman Eb Adeyeri.