Poland Connects To Internet Revolution.

The Internet in Poland is synonymous with the words "still loading," but analysts say this may change in 2000 as more competition, broader access and new technology forces firms to take the online plunge. Internet fever has already hit equity investors, with Warsaw_s IT sector stocks .COMPs) up over 35 percent in 2000 and fuelling the all-share WIG index .WAs) to a record high last week. Analysts said Poland_s still embryonic online world will grow rapidly as the telecoms market opens up, allowing new operators to woo customers away from long-time monopolist TPSA by offering better quality Internet services. Technological developments, such as Internet access through mobile telephones and cable television, will also facilitate growth, potentially doubling the number of Internet users in Poland to four million by 2001. That will still be just a little more than 10 percent of the population, a far cry from the 22 percent of Britons and the 45 percent of Americans who surf the web already. Polish computer firms have been racing to grab a piece of the Internet market with many balancing core activities such as system integration or hardware production with untested but promising Internet ventures.