News In Brief

BUT THEIR PARENTS LOVE IT

Attention, mall operators: Want to keep teenagers from loitering? You could take a cue from the folks who run the shopping center in Warrawong, a town south of Sydney on Australia's east coast. Their method for moving the youths along - loud Bing Crosby songs over the sound system and pink fluorescent lighting. It seems Der Bingle, as the late crooner was known in a career that began in the 1920s, is a turnoff to the kids. And the lighting? It highlights skin blemishes.

THERE'S ALWAYS E-MAIL

If anyone could see the merits of a new cost-cutting drive by the Norwegian postal service, you'd think it would be the government's communications minister, right? But, no. Dag Jostein Fjaervoll refuses to comply with a requirement that letter boxes be moved to the street, thus saving carrier time. Fjaervoll's is bolted to his house, where, he says, he can keep an eye on people who might snoop. He's so serious that he has canceled subscriptions to publications the carrier refuses to deliver.

Poll about privacy indicates people have many concerns

Are you concerned about your privacy in an increasingly high-tech environment? If so, you're not alone. In a recent survey by Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the Shell Poll, 80 percent of respondents said they think computers and the Internet are chipping away at privacy. Participants also listed the practices they considered to be "major" invasions of personal privacy. The seven that scored highest - and the percentage of respondents naming each as a major invasion of privacy:

1. Credit bureaus selling financial information

2. Companies selling data to other companies

3. States selling driver's license lists

4. Health companies sharing medical records

5. Social Security numbers being used for IDs

6. Hidden cameras

7. Employers monitoring telephone calls

- USA Today