The study's main conclusion is that the communication between people is produced in bursts, with intense periods of conversations and long periods of inactivity.

The effect of the bursts is that it slows down the information diffusion since the large periods of inactivity in the communication between two persons make it less likely that information is passed from one to the other.

It happens at the same time between members of the same social group, which accelerates the spreading of information within that group, the report said.

"This is something very important in the processes such as the diffusion of commercial information, viral marketing and the market trends of products, but also in situations such as the spreading of rumours, opinions, policies, etc.," said study's lead author Esteban Moro, from the Carlos III University, Madrid.

"This aspect of human activity which has also been observed in other activities such as e-mail, web page visits and stock market operations governs communication between people," the researchers concluded.