Nearly two-thirds of the 1,032 adults polled said they plan to seek extra confirmation of their bank accounts, retirement funds or other financial records after the start of the new millennium, a new survey released this week found.

Despite their concerns, 55 per cent said they believe the so-called ``millennium bug'' will cause only minor problems. The poll was conducted by the Gallup Organization for the National Science Foundation and USA Today.

Computers running crucial corporate operations, not to mention poer stations, air traffic control, banking and government social services are exposed to a potentially huge problem with comparatively trivial origins.

``With a full year before the year 2000, American industry, government and academia are largely aware of what they need to doto be fully prepared,'' said George Strawn, the foundation's computer networking division director.

The Year 2000, or Y2K, problem stems from an old programming shortcut that resulted in many computers being unable to recognize the date change of the new century. If left uncorrected, some computers could view the year 2000 as 1900, generating errors or system crashes.

In April, Transportation Department officials told a Senate Commerce Committee that only a quarter of the nation's critical air traffic control systems were certified as ready for 2000. Other government agencies also face potential problems.

Forty-six per cent of those surveyed by Gallup December 9-13 said they expect some air traffic control systems to fail; and nearly two-thirds said banking and accounting systems will fail, possibly causing errors in employee paychecks, government payments or other automated financial transactions.

Forty-nine per cent said they plan to take steps to make sure their personal computers are programmedcorrectly, but an equal number said they will wait and see what happens. Eighty-two per cent said they are confident that US corporations and large businesses will have upgraded their computer systems to correct Y2K problems.

Despite media reports about people preparing for food delivery or water systems to fail, 72 per cent of those polled said they have no plans to stockpile food or water; while over 80 per cent said they don't plan to buy generators or wood stoves.