Another poll, released earlier this week, said the number of women using the Internet is growing faster than the online population overall - especially among teenage girls and the over 55s.

Also, for the first time, more women than men are surfing the Net - 50.4 percent in the first three months of the year compared with 49.6 percent men.

The results of the surveys by the respected Harris market research organization and by online pollsters Media Metrix and Jupiter Communications, give a vivid snapshot of how Americans use the Internet now it has moved beyond the novelty stage to become part of many people's lives.

An estimated 76 million Americans are active Internet users, while 135 million people enjoy Net access through schools, libraries, and shared facilities.

"What it points to is that those who came to the Internet later view it with a more practical eye," said Ron Bel Bruno, senior editor of Yahoo! Internet Life magazine, which is publishing the Harris poll in its September edition.

"We who came earlier were fascinated by the technical aspects, but they (newcomers) are saying `What can it do for my life or my budget? I'm not interested in games and shooting people with little guns, I want to improve my life."'

In the survey, conducted by Harris Interactive via the Harris Poll Online and made available to Reuters on Friday, 2,565 U.S. Internet users answered a variety of questions from June 23-27, 2000. The poll has a 2 percent margin of error. Bel Bruno said one of the most fascinating findings was that, far from the image of Internet surfing as an impersonal and solitary activity, the survey showed it is actually helping people reach out.

Seventy-six percent of respondents said e-mail has put them in better touch with friends and family, while a staggering 87 percent of "wired" women over 55 are keeping in touch online.

"People are hanging up their phones," said Bel Bruno, pointing to the finding that 68 percent of respondents say using e-mail or instant messaging has reduced their long-distance phone bill. An exceptionally high segment (81 percent) of women over 55 benefit most from these savings. Other findings:
* On sex: Fifty percent of respondents believe that having cybersex is synonymous with infidelity - 60 percent of women, 41 percent of men.
* On politics: Thirty-two percent say the Net will help them in the November presidential elections. The effect will be greater on men (40 percent) than women (24 percent).
* On shopping: Seventy-one percent of men have made a purchase online, while 58 percent of women have done so. Young males, people with at least a bachelor's degree, and people who earn more than $75,000 are the most likely Web shoppers. The Media Metrix and Jupiter Communications survey this week focused on women's online behavioral patterns by monitoring female-oriented Web sites rather than questioning users. According to the survey, the number of women online surpassed that of men for the first time ever in the United States in May - 37.98 million, or 50.4 percent of all unique visits.

The survey found the number of unique visits by women increased dramatically over the past 12 months. The biggest growth was among teenage girls aged 12-17, which increased 126 percent from 1.96 million to 4.43 million unique visitors. Among women 55 or over the visitor count increased 109 percent from 1.59 million to 3.34 million. It also found that women in Europe and the United States tend to use the Internet to gather specific information to make their lives easier, rather than indiscriminate surfing across many different sites.

-- (Reuters)