Bermuda Government Employees Surf for Porn
A study of Bermuda government employees shows that during a recent two-week period at least 570 of them visited online pornography sites, the Bermuda Sun reported. While porn sites were the most popular online destination, many of the staffers also stopped by gambling, lingerie, entertainment and computer Web sites.
The data were included in a confidential memo, which the Bermuda Sun obtained, sent by e-commerce consultant Nigel Hickson to Bermuda's telecommunications minister, Renee Webb. In the memo, Hickson wrote, "It would be very damaging for the reputation of Bermuda if it became publicly known that five percent of government employees spent their days accessing porn."
Hickson recommended that the Bermuda government install blocking software, costing an estimated $24,000, as well as update its Internet policy.
"It is clearly vital that the government be able to monitor what their employees access from the Internet and how they use e-mail facilities," an adviser to Webb said. "It is clearly unacceptable for government employees to be able to access pornography or gamble online."
Link Between Gambling, Bankruptcy Found
A recent study by the Las Vegas Consumer Credit Counseling Services shows that 11 percent of 150 of its clients admit that at least some of their financial problems come from gambling, the Las Vegas Sun reported.
"It could be a lot higher," said Michele Johnson, chief executive of the service. "They don't always tell the truth."
The Las Vegas findings follow a recent study from SMR Research Corp. in New Jersey that attributed more than 14 percent of yearly bankruptcy filings in the United States to gambling debts. Last year Nevada had the fourth highest number of bankruptcy filings in the United
States.
Not all gaming industry veterans are willing to see a connection between gambling and filing for bankruptcy. Some say people could also be seeking financial relief after a divorce or from high medical bills.
Frank Fahrenkopf, who heads the American Gaming Association, also pointed to aggressive solicitation by credit card companies, which help many Americans accumulate debt. He suggested the reason communities with access to gambling tend to have high bankruptcy rates could be that many people have moved to those areas to make a fresh start.
"That doesn't mean they filed for bankruptcy because there are casinos in the community," he said.
Brits Embrace E-Banking
Residents of Britain are rushing to the Internet for their banking needs, according to new studies.
Research firm NetValue estimates the number of British e-banking customers has increased dramatically during the first half of this year. There were about 5 million registered online banking customers in July, compared to 3.8 million in January, the firm said.
Many of these new banking customers are women, who account for about 53 percent of online banking customers. At the same time, the number of Internet bank sites has dropped to 62 in July from 83 in January.
Europeans Head the 3G Mobile Commerce Movement
By virtue of its size and choice of a single, unified third generation wireless standard, the largest single market for mobile services is Europe, reports Cahners In-Stat Group.
The runner up is Japan, thanks primarily to its per capita consumption of mobile commerce services, which exceeds even that in Europe.
"Certain words and phrases, like WAP (wireless application protocol), the wireless Web and 3G have lost popularity in recent months, victims of delays, poor implementation and low customer interest," said Ken Hyers, a senior analyst for In-Stat's mobile commerce service.
"However, " he added, "carriers should not despair. The long-term outlook for this space is favorable, with total 2G- and 3G-based combined mobile commerce projected to grow considerably through 2005."
In-Stat researchers also report that despite the huge revenue likely to be generated through mobile commerce, companies must weigh the cost of deploying advanced services against the high costs of bidding for 3G licenses and for building 3G networks. Between 70 and 95 percent of
carriers' total mobile commerce revenues is likely to come from infotainment.
Broadband Usage by Americans Expected to Increase
According to a new report from the Yankee Group, Americans will slowly but surely adopt broadband connections. About 3.1 million households are expected to use the service by 2005, mainly through service from their cable companies.