[FYI] Today's European Information Society

[Horns@t-online.de (Axel H. Horns)]

                    CORDIS RTD-NEWS/c European Communities, 1999. 

                    Record Control Number: 13313

                    Date: 1999-07-22

                    Category: Miscellaneous

                    General Information:

                    The number of Internet users in Europe doubled in
                    just one year between 1997 and 1998, according to
                    the Eurobarometer survey: 'Measuring Information
                    Society 1998'. 

                    The survey shows a growing interest among European
                    citizens in new information technology (IT)
                    applications, although a strong North South divide
                    was revealed in terms of access to and interest in
                    information technologies. 

                    Over 8.3 % of private households in the EU, an
                    estimated 27 million people, have Internet access,
                    compared with 4.4 % in 1997. However the survey
                    shows significant disparities between the North
                    and South. In Sweden Internet access stands at
                    39.6 % compared to only 2.9 % in Greece. And an
                    average of 13.3% of Europeans use the Internet at
                    work. 

                    Personal computers feature in 30.8 % of European
                    homes. Sweden tops the list again with 59.8 %
                    usage, compared to 12.2 % in Greece. Mobile
                    telephones have been adopted by 30.2 % of
                    Europeans, the main users being Finland (64.4 %)
                    and Sweden (60.3 %). 

                    A high level of interest was shown in on-line
                    contacts with municipal administrations, in
                    particular the possibility of accessing and
                    downloading administrative documents. On-line
                    travel booking, health advice, electronic job
                    searches, tele-learning and on-line purchasing
                    were among the favourite services, with only 11 %
                    interested in on-line contacts with politicians. 

                    However there was a substantial percentage who
                    showed little interest in Internet services. Of
                    the people who responded 55 % said they saw no
                    need for such services in their private lives,
                    24.2 % considered the services too expensive, 21.5
                    % do not have the right equipment and 18.2 % said
                    they found it too complicated. 

                    Data Source Provider: European Commission DG XIII
                    and RAPID

                    Document Reference: European Commission DG XIII
                    and RAPID

                    Subject Index Codes: Information Processing,
                    Information Systems

                    Contact Person:

                    Additional information is available on the ISPO
                    website: 

                    URL: http://www.ispo.cec.be/polls/