Members of the Electoral Commission have met with Scottish ministers to discuss ways of tackling voter apathy north of the border.

Less than half of those eligible to vote did so in the Holyrood elections earlier this year - a 10 per cent fall since the first polls were held in 1999.

Turnout in the European elections was even lower - with around one in four Scots registering their vote.

While there are already plans to hold all-postal ballots in next year's elections to the European parliament, the Edinburgh conference will also examine the possibility of voting via the internet or mobile phone.

"We are trying to come up with new methods of voting more convenient to our lifestyles and the way we live in the 21st century," said Andy O'Neil of the Electoral Commission.

"We did some polling after the elections back in May and 50 per cent of non-voters indicated to us that they would have considered voting if alternative methods of voting had been available on that day."

Meanwhile, concerns have been raised at the falling numbers on the electoral register.

In the past two years, 100,000 people have disappeared from the lists, after changes which required voters to positively apply to be on the electoral role.

The Scottish affairs committee in Westminster is expected to launch an inquiry into how the trend might be reversed.