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By Heather McLean, 30 August 2001 17:57

NEWS Companies are still enthusiastic about the internet and its money saving potential despite the bad press the high-tech sector has attracted over the last 12 months. A survey of CEOs from FTSE350 companies, conducted by PA Consulting, found 66 per cent of organisations were maintaining a "high level of priority and interest" in internet technologies and their exploitation. A further 30 per cent were sustaining a "medium level" of interest, with only two per cent saying it was low. However, there is a cloud on the horizon as money is not going where respondents' mouths are, with 14 per cent saying IT spend in this direction will shrink. Only 44 per cent said they would increase their company's investment in internet and related technologies and 22 per cent stated they intend to keep funding levels the same. Perceptions of the stock market don't reflect businesses attitudes to technology spending in the field. Fifty six per cent of the interviewees said that "the pendulum has swung too far", in that the stock markets' tendency to hammer high-tech companies in the B2B and B2C arenas has had a negative effect on the initiatives coming from them. Those polled thought this will damage any future advances that could be come from them. PA Consulting concluded that CEOs are taking a responsible and balanced view of the internet and what it can offer businesses, despite the despondent noises coming from some parts of the media and some business leaders.