They say on the ninth day of the ninth month of 1999, certain older computers will read four nines as a cut-off code, freeze and perhaps even destroy data. But Asia is less at risk than other regions because it was computerised relatively late.

"In Hong Kong, most systems are new, we don't really have large mainframes that are very old, so this problem is unlikely in Hong Kong," said Roy Ko, principal consultant at the Hong Kong Productivity Council.

While the rhetoric and ink have been flowing copiously about the need to prevent the millennium bug from wreaking havoc on computers when 1999 becomes 2000, September's "Infinity Day" bug is rarely talked about.

The problem stems from the old Cobol programming language which used astring of nines to signify infinity. That means when September 9 comes, computers with the programming would read 9999 not as a date but as a command to stop, concerned analysts say.

They worry Japan, which has some of the largest banks in the world, is still resting on some old mainframes.

Japan says no worries

But the Japan Electronic Industry Development Association (Jeida) says September 9 is no problem and JEIDA doesn't include the date on its list of recommended testing days, such as April 1, the start of Japan's fiscal year.

"There is no technological reason behind a potential computer malfunction on September 9, 1999, and the possibility of a malfunction on September 9 is the same as that on September 8 or September 10," Jeida said in a statement.

In India, Y2K experts say older mainframe computers vulnerable to the September 9 date are rare.

"It is meant to be in Cobol programs and things like that. So I don't think there is any major problem," said S Ramkrishnan, National Y2KCoordinator in the Department of Electronics.

Bugs beneath the surface

While Cobol is virtually extinct, some say its bugs--including the millennium bug--remain in modern programs and September 9 could be a threat because the new breed of experts don't know where to look for them.

"It's tough to discover the bug when you're coming in from the outside, because all the people who used to manage those old systems have retired," said Wu Zhigang, senior engineer for China's Centre of Y2K Compliance Testing & Certification.

But Wu also said, "I don't think the situation will be as serious as Y2K crisis". He said the problem was rare and that the 9999 shut-down command did not exist in many embedded chips found in stand-alone electronics, from fax machines and elevators to control equipment at power stations and water treatment plants.

While programmers in 1999, mainly use languages like C and Java to program computers in the Internet age, some experts warn that Cobol and its bugs are lurkingbeneath the surface.

"About 95 per cent of programming code in the world comes from Cobol," Bill Morgan, senior vice president of the US-based Copperweld Corp, the world's biggest producer of bimetallic wires, said.

"I was one of the guys who created the problem," said Morgan, a veteran programmer who thinks US Phone systems may be most vulnerable to the 9999 bug, because of old circuits.

Fear the only problem?

South Korea is one country expecting September 9 might bring problems, and taking measures to deal with them. "That September 9 will trigger problems is expected, but we will not know anything for sure until then," said Koo Da-han of South Korea's Y2K Task Force Team. He said the country had set up measures to respond to any malfunctions.

State Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd said their billing department was threatened by September 9, but would be fully ready this week.

"Actually September 9 is not that big a problem as the program can be restarted if it freezes... Butrestarting a program when you have to print out 2 million telephone bills, is a hassle," said general manager Mohammad Sarwar.

In Singapore, the government says it has tested for 9999 and there is no problem. Malaysia also says it is ready for any bugs and a Taiwan expert says the chances of a major crash on September 9 are "extremely thin".

Australia's top Y2K official Graeme Inchley says September 9 fears are unfounded.

"Everyone has reported (the risk) is minimal, if anything," he said. "Compare that with their response to the Y2K issue and it's chalk and cheese."

In Thailand commercial banks are required to report how their systems perform on September 9 to the Bank of Thailand. Pisit Jirapinyo, senior vice president of the Siam Commercial Bank Plc, says he is so confident he has already prepared his report. "We have run countless program tests on the so-called 9999 issue and have not found a single glitch," he said.

More to come

Most banks and major financial institutions in Indonesiaare Y2K ready, but essential services such as communications, power suppliers and middle size companies might be hit because they lack the money to tackle 9999.

The New Zealand Y2K Readiness Commission's special adviser John Good said September 9, was being seen as an opportunity to pick up any date problems as the Year 2000 neared.

New Year's Eve and September 9 are not the only date-related computer problems. The internal date in the Global Positioning System (GPC) used in air, road and sea navigation will roll over on August 21. And 2000 is a leap year, a fact programmers may have forgotten, meaning February 29 may be another test.