According to officials with Bezeq, which carried out the survey among business and residential customers to assess the potential for Internet and online services in Israel, around 34 percent of homes now have a PC, with around 12 percent of homes also having a modems.

The figures extrapolate out to produce the surprise result that a third of home PC users also have a modem, Newsbytes notes. Moreover, around 10 percent of home PC owners said they planned on getting a modem "fairly soon."

On the business PC front, a significant number of users said they were using Pentium-based systems. The bottom line, according to Bezeq, is that more than 50 percent of Israel's PCs, operating in both the home and office environments, are Pentium-based, a fact which clearly illustrates the recent take-up of PCs, especially in then home, by the Israelis.

In the workplace, most offices have at least one PC, with more than 85 percent of companies with three or more staff having access to a PC. Around 60 percent of businesses already have a modem, while an extra five percent plan on getting one soon.

According to Bezeq, an astonishing 85 percent of PC users said they were already hooked up to, or were interested in hooking up, the Internet, although almost half of those surveyed would prefer to use the Internet on a pay-as-you-go basis, rather than a subscription basis.

Bezeq's findings coincide with the telco's announcement that it plans to offer a wide range of Internet services for home and business users through its Goldnet division. The company carried its major survey in order to assess the requirements for extra phone lines by modemwielding PC owners.

(Sylvia Dennis/19960624/Press & Reader Contact: Bezeq, +072-2-316201)