Just 366,420 people visited the Millennium Dome in its first month - roughly 11,000 a day, according to figures released on Friday.

This means the figure has hit just 3% of the original break-even figure of 12 million needed for the whole of 2000.

But Dome bosses gave an upbeat assessment of their first attendance figures - which include 21,800 schoolchildren, sponsors and journalists on free trips - at a news conference.

The New Millennium Expeience Company said the Dome was on course to reach the 12 million figure and that the giant attraction in Greenwich, south London, could actually break even with only 10 million visitors.

They are also keen to point out that despite the numbers, income from catering and merchandise has held up well.

And it added that from next week, Dome visitor numbers would be published every week on its internet website.

The attraction has been plagued by media criticism and cash-flow problems since it opened with a chaotic opening night on Millennium Eve.

The attendances vary from 5,084 on Tuesday 11 January to 23,304 on Saturday 29 January.

The figures for January amount to less than 3% of the 12 million admission-paying visitors needed during the year for the project to break even.

But the NMEC points out that January was always going to be a slow month.

Its managing director Liam Kane said: "The peak season for visitor attractions is the summer months, with smaller peaks around school holidays.

"We expect our visitor numbers to follow the same pattern as the rest of the tourism industry, with the key difference that we expect a higher proportion of attendances in November and December, when there is likely to be a rush to see the Dome before it closes."

The company says capacity during January was limited to 20,000 in any one day and that double sessions, with evening opening, will start on Fridays and Saturdays in April.

Last weekend was the busiest of the month and NMEC says more and more people are turning up and buying tickets on the day.

The company also published a survey by Mori of 1,083 visitors conducted from 14 January to 30 January.

This showed:

82% of visitors were either very (51%) or fairly (31%) satisfied with their day out.

78% of visitors would either definitely (52%) or probably (26%) recommend the Dome to friends.

80% thought the Dome was a value-for-money day out, with 35% rating it "very good" value.

35% of visitors would either definitely (16%) or probably (19%) go back.

This is the first time the company has issued official attendance figures and there will now be regular announcements of the previous month's figures at the beginning of the next month.