Online Web Surfing Averages 6 Hours a Week - A recent poll conducted by Louis Harris and Associates indicates that the average online computer user in the U.S. spends six hours a week surfing the Web (not including sending and receiving e-mail - the most popular online activity. Sixty-three percent of online users say they use email "often," a 10% increase since September 1998. The next most popular activity (39%) was conducting research for work or school. Thirty-one percent of users shop online, with books the most frequently purchased item and software second. US Consumers will spend $56 billion on Internet access services over the next five years, and the market will grow 21 percent a year..." (Reuters 24 and 27 Mar 99)