Where will the next Bill Gates come from?

WASHINGTON: A mere 13 per cent of those residing in the United States think the next Bill Gates could come from India, while an equally small percentage believe he could emerge from America, according to a latest survey on Internet attitudes.

About 27 per cent of respondents believe that the next Gates could come from China, 22 per cent opining that the person could be from Japan and 13 per cent pitching for India. Only 21 per cent of those living in the US believe he could come from America.

The polling was done by Zogby International and the public relations firm 463 Communications, both based in Washington DC.

"The findings are not surprising," said Tom Galvin, a partner in 463 Communications. "It doesn't mean that the US is slipping, it's that other countries are catching up. Americans have a very firm and sophisticated understanding of the competitiveness we're dealing with.

"I don't think they resent it but they want to know what we're going to do about it," he said adding that it was a bit curious that only 13 per cent of the respondents chose India as the place where the next Bill Gates would come from.

An overwhelming majority - 83 per cent - believes that a typical 12-year-old knows more about the Internet than their member of Congress. Republicans (85 per cent) and Democrats (86 per cent) agreed with each other.

An interesting finding is that nearly one third of Americans believe that the Internet is a greater invention; and 65 per cent said Johannes Gutenberg's printing press that merely nabbed him the title 'Man of the Millenium' by Time Magazine is a greater invention.

Whites favoured the printing press over the Internet by 69 to 27 per cent; but only 57 per cent of African-Americans favoured the printing press and 41 per cent chose the Internet.

Moreover, Hispanic Americans actually favoured the Internet 51 to 47 per cent and Asian Americans surveyed also chose the Internet by 85 to 12 per cent.

But in all that buzz about the Internet, it is still not seen as a critical element of the workplace - when asked 'What would make it harder for you to work (your car not starting, or losing Internet and email access?) 78 per cent gave the nod to the car while only 10 per cent said the Internet.

Of those surveyed making more than USD 100,00 a year, 31 per cent chose the loss of Internet access, while only 6 per cent of those making less than USD 35,000 did.