Utah #1 In Computer Ownership

Details From AP

Dept. of Commerce

Oct. 16, 2000--

Utah ranks number one when it comes to computer ownership.

A new study shows 66.1 percent of Utah households own a computer. That's followed by Alaska at 64.8 percent of households.

States with the lowest percentage of computer homes were Mississippi at 37.2 percent and Arkansas at 37.3 percent.

The study shows overall Americans' access to computers and the Internet has grown dramatically over the past 20 months. Computers now are in more than half of all households, 51 percent to be exact. That represents 53.7 million homes.

The number of households with Internet access also soared, hitting 41.5 percent in August, up from just 26.2 percent in the previous 1999 survey.

But as in past surveys, the government found a gap with whites and people living in cities much more likely to have computers and Internet access than minorities and those living in rural areas.

The report, "Falling through the Net: Toward Digital Inclusion," was released by Commerce Secretary Norman Y. Mineta as he began a West Coast "digital divide" tour aimed at highlighting efforts to close the gap in computer and Internet use.

Among the report's other findings:

• The disparity between men and women in their use of the Internet has largely disappeared, with 44.6 percent of men and 44.2 percent of women now using the Internet.

• Sending messages remains the most popular use for the Internet with 79.9 percent of Internet users reporting that they use e-mail. Online shopping and paying bills showed the fastest growth.