The Commerce Department study, Falling Through The Net, said more than 40% of US homes now had a computer, while 25% were linked to the Internet.

But while overall Internet usage is soaring, the report showed that access to technology varied greatly depending on education, income, race and proximity to urban centres.

"America's digital divide is fast becoming a racial ravine," said Larry Irving, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Telecommunications.

Black and Hispanic households are approximately one-third as likely to have home Internet access as those of Asian and Pacific Island descent and roughly two-fifths as likely as white households.

Haves and have-nots

Differences in income is directly related to disparity in access to technology, and that division grew last year, the report showed.

The technology divide between the rich and poor increased almost 30%

Between 1997 and 1998, the gap in access to technology between the highest and lowest income levels increased by 29%.

Households with incomes of $75,000 and above are more than 20 times more likely to have access to the Internet than those at the lowest income levels, the study found.

But government experts expressed concern that the disparity cannot be attributed solely to differences in income.

"Even when holding income constant, there is still a yawning divide among different races and origins," the report said.

Among families in the $15,000 to $33,000 income bracket, more than 33% of whites own computers, compared to just 19% of blacks, the study found.

The government wants to increase Internet access at schools

And the gap in overall computer ownership between blacks and whites has increased 62% since 1994, despite the fact that computer prices dropped below $500 by the end of last year.

Regardless of income level, those living in rural areas trail behind their urban counterparts in computer and Internet access.

At some income levels, those town and city dwellers are 50% more likely to have Internet access than those earning the same in rural areas.

"It is now one of America's leading economic and civil rights issues and we have to take concrete steps to redress the gap between the information haves and have nots," Mr Irving said.

Closing the gap

The Clinton administration is currently trying to expand access to technology by promoting an Internet subsidy for schools and libraries, known as e-rate.

Several organisations and corporations have also announced efforts to close the gap.

Television chat show queen Oprah Winfrey, in conjunction with her new media effort Oxygen Media Inc, is planning to distribute an "Oprah Goes Digital" video to inner city schools.