BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- The Internet has had no apparent negative influence on urban Chinese youth, whether in their school performance, or time spent on sports or social activities with family and friends, says a new survey.

　　The survey, published on Sept. 17 in Beijing, aimed to find how the use of the Internet would influence urban Chinese youth, and their attitudes towards the Internet.

　　Conducted by the Journalism and Communications Research Institute of the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the survey showed nearly 38 percent of young Chinese polled used the Internet.

　　Of the respondents, 42 percent said the use of the Internet had no influence on their studies. About 29 percent said the Internet was useful in their studies, the same as those who said it brought about an undesirable impact on their studies, according to the poll.

　　Internet users spent an average 2.7 hours weekly on sports, more than non-users at 2.3 hours.

　　The survey also indicated there was no evidence showing the use of the Internet by students was connected with personal isolation. Instead, Internet users were more satisfied with their lives and felt less lonely than non-users.

　　The survey, conducted from Jan. 25 to Feb. 15, 2003, covered a random sample of 3,375 students aged from 10 to 18. It was conducted in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Changsha, Xining and Hohhot.

　　It was the second time the CASS had conducted such a survey since 2000, the year it started the project in cooperation with the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), which initiated a program called the "World Internet Project". The project was intended to find out how the Internet would affect society. Enditem