The Center for e-Service at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business and Rockbridge Associates, Inc. co-sponsored the recently released 2002 National Technology Readiness Survey (NTRS). The survey, conducted in December 2002, found that employees with Web access at both the office and at home, spend an average of 3.7 hours per week engaged in personal online activities while on the job, but they spend more time--an average of 5.9 hours per week--using the Internet at home, for work-related purposes. 85% of survey participants with online Web access at work admitted using the Internet on the job for personal purposes. The survey found that workers who do not have Internet access at home spend more time doing personal Web business at work-- an average of 6.5 hours per week compared to the 3.7 hours per week spent online by those who do have home access. Charles Colby, president of Rockbridge Associates, Inc. predicts that the amount of personal Internet use at work will decrease as high-speed Internet access becomes more common in homes. Other findings include: 18% of adult Internet users conducted a transaction on a federal government Web site during the previous 12 months, up from the 11% reported in 2001; 22% of adult Internet users checked account information with a telephone, gas, or electric company, up from 13% in 2001; 20% of adult Internet users paid a credit card bill online, up from 15% in 2001; and 23% of adult Internet users paid a bill, other than a credit card, online, up from 16% in 2001. The 2002 National Technology Readiness Survey results, including detailed tables, can be viewed online at www.rhsmith.umd.edu/ntrs2002.

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