Sunday August 9, 1:30 PM

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Millennium Bug - We're Well Prepared, Say Company Chief

Most chief executives believe their computers are prepared for the Millennium bug, according to a survey to be released this week.

But four out of 10 captains of industry plan to avoid flying on January 1 2000 just in case of system failure on the plane.

And only half have made contingency plans in case their own electronics succumb to the bug, which threatens to cause chaos across the globe on the first day of the new Millennium.

Some computers might not be able to recognise the Year 2000 in their memories. This is because they work with only the last two numbers in a year, so might get confused and think the year had actually changed to 1900.

Management company Executives on Assignment said more than 70% of the chief executives they questioned thought the bug would be a problem to the world generally, but only 35% thought it would cause major trouble.

A full 80% were confident most British companies could put the right solutions in place in time.

The weak link in the chain was expected to come from organisations perceived to be less computer-sophisticated, such as small companies and the public sector.

Encouragingly, 98% had carried out full audits of their computer systems to check if they could be prone to the bug or were in the process of doing so.

Meanwhile, half had contingency plans, such as manual by-pass systems, in place already while the remainder were confident of smooth running.

Details also emerged about the cost of ensuring computers were compliant with the Year 2000 - almost 30% had already spent up to £500,000 while 10% had already been forced to part with as much as £2 million.