Youngsters slow to feel pull of Internet HANOI - A new survey has found Internet usage by under-18s in Vietnam is the lowest of the 14 Asian-Pacific nations polled, but that the tradition of striving for academic excellence remains strong. The survey, carried out for TV's Cartoon Network by AC Nielsen, also found that despite the worries of older Vietnamese about overseas influence, young Vietnamese identified more with local music and sports stars than with foreign personalities. "When it comes to entertainment, Vietnamese children prefer local celebrities like [comedienne] Minh Vuong and [footballer] Hong Son who were the most favoured TV and sports stars respectively," pollsters found. Nielsen's chief communications officer for Asia-Pacific, Phil Burfurd, said it also found Vietnamese children worked hard at home, showed strong family and social cohesion, and aimed for academic success. "Over 70 per cent of kids ranked achieving good grades as the most important thing for them, while the least important was to be seen as 'cool' with friends," he told the Vietnam Investment Review, although products such as name-brand jeans, shoes and watches were becoming increasingly popular. The survey found Vietnamese children were being denied learning advantages offered by the Internet, concluding that few had surfed the Net and that just half had used a computer. Researchers - who interviewed 7,700 children between the ages of seven and 18 in 29 cities across 14 nations - found 72 per cent of Australian youngsters and 54 per cent of New Zealand children had Internet access in class. About 68 per cent of Singaporean and 53 per cent of Hong Kong children had logged on at least once, but only 15 per cent of Chinese and Philippine kids had done so. Only five per cent of under-18 Indonesian and Indian children had accessed the Net. A surprise finding was that only 25 per cent of children in Tokyo had used the Web for learning or entertainment. The survey was conducted to establish the opinions and preferences of children and the potential of the Internet to create brand awareness. By Huw Watkin - South China Morning Post - April 27, 2000.