The project will extend to all corners of the globe, from places as remote as the Amazon jungle and Papua New Guinea to urban areas. A truly global poll, as Planet Project aims to be, it will be conducted in eight languages-Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.

Millions of young people from around the world have been invited to answer a series of questions about what it's like to be a human being at the beginning of the millennium. Using a wide range of technologies, the project's goal is to involve people of all nations in an experience that will enable them to instantly share and compare their thoughts, beliefs, opinions, fears, similarities and differences.

Would you switch your race if you knew you could not change back? When you die, what do you think will most likely happen to you? Have you ever had a dream and then actually lived that dream in real life? How often do you think about your weight? How do you and your spouse express affection for each other? These are some of the questions listed.

Planet Project will offer questions grouped in eight modules, with 20 questions per module. The module topics are centred on religion, beliefs and fears, health and well-being, sleep and dreams, self-image, marriage, dating and sex, parenting and education, and law and order. Individuals may respond to any or all of the modules. After completing a module, individuals can choose to instantly compare their responses with those of other groups of people by sex, age and location.

Says Mr Eric Benhamou, chairman and CEO, 3Com: "Planet Project illustrates 3com's vision of a world in which simple-to-use networking technology fosters greater community understanding across geographical, economic and cultural barriers."

A leader in advanced networking for education, the 3Com corporation is committed to bridging the "digital divide" by equipping schools around the world with the networking technology they need to offer students quality education and technology skills. In addition to providing solutions for local and wide area networks, wireless LANS, LAN Telephony and remote access, 3Com has developed a number of initiatives to specifically address the digital divide. These include Planet Project, The Students Programme Poll, the Urban Challenge programme and the NetPrep programme.

Emphasising on bridging the digital divide, Planet Project will not be restricted to net users. To reach individuals who are not connected by the Internet, a team of more than a thousand specially equipped Planet Project pollster-volunteers and 3Com employees will go to all corners of the globe to ensure that people everywhere are included.

Announcing Planet Project in India, Mr Soumitra Agarwal, marketing manager, India, 3Com India Pvt. Ltd, said: "By reaching out to both, `digital haves' and `digital have-nots', through Planet Project, 3Com wants the world to see how easy it is to create a global community via the Internet and how being connected can foster greater human understanding."

The poll data will be analysed by Harris Interactive, a leading global research company known for the Harris Poll. The results will be announced worldwide during the four days of the poll. "The idea of coming up with questions for the first ever global survey was both exciting and challenging," says Mr Gordon Black, chairman and CEO of Harris Interactive.

"We needed questions that would provide a glimpse of the human condition, but they also had to be translated into eight languages and be appropriate in many different cultures."