PRESENTER: On today's show we're discussing what many people consider to be a mixed blessing - the Internet. I have in the studio with me Nicholas Radcliffe, a political scientist who recently carried out a study in the UK on the social impact of the Net, and Melinda Kershaw, managing director of a major Internet consultancy firm in the city. So, Melinda, let me ask you - is the Net really good for us? MELINDA: Well, it all depends on who you are. For instance, if you had the foresight to invest heavily in Internet shares, then you could quite possibly be a millionaire by now. Most of us, however, are more likely to benefit in a more practical sense. It's a fact that more people are turning to e-mail and Internet shopping, while all of us will, one day soon, be conducting our business, and a large part of our lives, in virtual reality. NICHOLAS: I fail to see how anyone could interpret that scenario as a blessing - it sounds like a nightmare to me. The way I see it, the Internet is going to turn us all into an army of computer nerds, devoid of any social skills or emotions, locked in a world of isolation and depression! MELINDA: Not necessarily. Alternative electronic relationships may replace or even enhance face-to-face family and social connections. A survey conducted by our consultancy suggests that the main reason children and teenagers are spending more time online is because they don't feel discriminated against because of their age. NICHOLAS: But the other side of the coin is that people's obsession with the Internet has led them to spend less time with friends and family, less time shopping in stores, and more time at home working after hours. In short, the more time you spend on the Net, the less time you spend integrating with other human beings. MELINDA: Well, that all depends on what people are doing when they're online. If you want to focus on social interaction, then let me point out that the Net, as a communication tool, has narrowed the distance between people, thanks to e-mailing, which is far more effective, cheaper and easier than more traditional methods of communicating. NICHOLAS: It's not exactly cheap for those employers whose workforce surf the Internet when they should be working! MELINDA: Look, if you give people a tool like the Interne!, you can't expect them not to use it for their own personal gain. It's up to employers to find a balance between small amounts of use and illicit use in the workplace, NICHOLAS: And in many cases, those efforts have resulted in the emergence of a Big Brother culture, with nearly 60% of UK employees suspecting their employers of monitoring their e-mails! MELINDA: And with just cause. But going back to personal use, figures show that the number of households in western Europe that have Internet access has doubled in the last year, and is set to double again in the next two. NICHOLAS: Yes, but they still remain the privileged few. There are alarming disparities in PC ownership among class groups in this country. People in the North, for example, are far less likely to have exposure to the Net, this only serves to widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots. MELINDA: This is a worry that has far more profound implications when applied to developing countries, since those economies with access to modern communication networks will clearly develop much faster than those without. NICHOLAS: Effectively increasing the divide between developed and developing countries. Africa, in particular, will find it very difficult to catch up. MELINDA: Since technology is as important a part of the economic cycle as capital and labour, this is unavoidable. With Internet and new technology companies accounting for a third of real economic growth over the past three years in the US, it's a trend that's hard to ignore, and which is now being exported over here. Whichever way you look at it, the Internet is the most revolutionary technological development since the telephone, and I predict that it will one day become as fundamental as electricity.