Concern has arisen worldwide about the pale people who spend too much time before a computer screen surfing away on the Internet. The Singapore government site on the subject (www.camp.org.sg) warns that the common signs of Internet addiction include preoccupation with the Internet, such as frequent thoughts about previous online activity or anticipation of the next online session.

"There is an observable increase in the amount of time spent on the Internet in order to achieve satisfaction," the site states. "A person addicted to the Internet will often have repeated, unsuccessful efforts to control, cut down or stop Internet use. They may experience withdrawal symptoms such as feelings of restlessness, moodiness, depression or irritability when attempting to cut down Internet time."

The site identifies five subtypes of Internet addiction: cybersex addiction (compulsive use of adult web sites for cybersex and cyberporn); cyber-relationship addiction (overinvolvement in online relationships); net compulsions (obsessive online gambling, shopping, or online trading); information overload (compulsive web surfing or database searches); and computer addiction (obsessive computer game playing, e.g., Doom, Myst, or Solitaire). So are you an Internet addict? For those who use the Internet at work it is sometimes hard to determine. The Centre for Online and Internet Addiction has published a questionnaire to help you determine if you've got the bug.

In the test score one point for answering "Rarely", two for "occasionally", three for "frequently", four for "often", and five for "always". Score nothing if the question does not apply.

The questions are: 1. How often do you find that you stay online longer than you intended?

2. How often do you neglect household chores to spend more time online?

3. How often do you prefer the excitement of the Internet to intimacy with your partner?

4. How often do you form new relationships with fellow online users?

5. How often do others in your life complain to you about the amount of time you spend online?

6. How often do your grades or school work suffer because of the amount of time you spend online?

7. How often do you check your e-mail before something else that you need to do?

8. How often does your job performance or productivity suffer because of the Internet?

9. How often do you become defensive or secretive when anyone asks you what you do online?

10. How often do you block out disturbing thoughts about your life with soothing thoughts of the Internet?

11. How often do you find yourself anticipating when you will go online again?

12. How often do you fear that life without the Internet would be boring, empty, and joyless?

13. How often do you snap, yell, or act annoyed if someone bothers you while you are online?

14. How often do you lose sleep due to late-night log-ins?

15. How often do you feel preoccupied with the Internet when off-line, or fantasize about being online?

16. How often do you find yourself saying "just a few more minutes" when online?

17. How often do you try to cut down the amount of time you spend online and fail?

18. How often do you try to hide how long you've been online?

19. How often do you choose to spend more time online over going out with others?

20. How often do you feel depressed, moody, or nervous when you are offline, which goes away once you are back online?

Add up the numbers to obtain a final score. The higher your score, the greater your level of addiction. Those scoring between 20 to 49 points are considered average online users. Those scoring from 50 to 79 points are "experiencing occasional or frequent problems because of the Internet". Those in the 80 to 100 point range are true addicts.

Even though I conduct much of my work using the Internet, I scored as an average user. If you live with someone, I would suggest that you get him or her to fill out most of the questions for you or query you on your answers. You might find that you are in denial about some of the questions, or that someone may have a completely different perception of your behaviour. After all, part of being an addict is being in denial.

And yes, you can complete the test online at: www.netaddiction.com.

I got this offer in a spam e-mail, which explains the mass spam e-mails that most of us have been besieged with. The e-mail, from Target E-mailing & Creative Services, offered me a chance to send five million pieces of spam for $400. "Order now and we will start you off with 100,000 fresh e-mail addresses.

Parasites like this company are killing the joys of e-mail for many of us.

Tech Tattle deals with topics relating to technology. Contact Ahmed at editoroffshoreon.com or (33) 467901474.