Russia_s Internet revenue triples.

Revenue earned from the Internet in Russia in 1998 was some 160 million dollars, triple the figure for 1997, a top communications official was quoted Thursday as saying by the Vremya daily. That figure includes revenue from calls, advertising and marketing. Svyazinvest state phone company_s representative V. Vasin told the newspaper, predicting even sharper growth in 1999. The Internet was accessible to some 1.5 million customers in Russia at the end of last year, a 50-percent increase over 1997.