Starr report draws Internet audience

WASHINGTON - The titillating descriptions of sexual encounters between President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky contained in a special prosecutor's report drew far more readers to the Internet than the legal defense issued by the White House.

A market research company, Relevant Knowledge, estimated Monday that about 10 times as many people downloaded the 445-page report by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr than the 73-page response the White House issued before anyone there saw Starr's tome.

The company, which tracks Internet traffic, said more than 6 million people read either Starr's report or the White House statement during the first two days after their release.

AP PHOTO First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton glances at her husband as they wait to be introduced during a Democratic Party fundraiser in New York City yesterday.

"The frenzy to see the Starr report is like nothing we've ever seen before," said Jeff Levy, chairman of Relevant Knowledge.

The company estimated that 5.9 million people read Starr's report on the Internet, compared with 606,000 people who read the White House defense of President Clinton.

Relevant Knowledge projected its figures by watching about 8,000 randomly selected Internet users whom it considers representative of U.S. citizens 13 and over online.

09-15-98