WESTERN Europe's information and communications technology market is expected to grow 8.5 per cent in 1996 and 9 per cent in 1997, faster than in the United States or Japan, a study published yesterday showed. The market is valued at around £250 billion. The figures, published by the European Information Technology Observatory (EITO), reflect a steady upturn since 1993, when the market grew by only 3.7 per cent and the information technology sector was considered to be in crisis.