A NEW Army unit is to be created to use psychology and social media to help Britain "fight in the information age".

The 77th Brigade will start life in April and comprise more than 40 per cent of reserves as well as regulars from all three services to help defence forces "operate smarter", the Ministry of Defence said.

The new unit's focus will be on "unconventional" non-lethal, non-military methods such as "shaping behaviours through the use of dynamic narratives", an Army spokesman said.

The spokesman added: "The brigade is being created to draw together a host of existing and developing capabilities essential to meet the challenges of modern conflict and warfare.

"It recognises that the actions of others in a modern battlefield can be affected in ways that are not necessarily violent and it draws heavily on important lessons from our commitments to operations in Afghanistan amongst others."