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Some HK computers fail to show correct dates

HONG KONG: Some government computers failed to show the correct date on Monday as minor Y2K glitches turned up on Hong Kong's first working day of the new millennium, a senior official said.

The troubles disrupted date displays on computers in the Agricultural and Fisheries Department, the Technical Training and Service Development Institute, and the Auxiliary Medical Services, said K C Kwong, secretary for information technology and broadcasting.

The glitches didn't affect critical operations or records kept by the departments, Kwong told reporters. Technicians were working on the problems, he said.

Kwong also said 10 small Ñ or medium-sized private companies reported minor computer problems that possibly were related to Y2K. Kwong would not identify the companies, but he said they did not provide essential services and the problems would not affect the general public.

The central government only monitors large companies for Y2K problems and has not found any, Kwong said.

The 10 smaller companies that may have experienced Y2K troubles had reported their difficulties to the Hong Kong Productivity Council. Officers from the council did not immediately return a reporter's phone calls.

All the government's essential services were operating normally, Kwong said. The Y2K bug can affect some computers that read only the last two digits of a year and malfunction when they confuse 2000 for 1900.ÑAP