'Web Rage' In Real World'Web Rage' In Real World

Keep an eye on the guy in the next cubicle--if his download times out, you could be in for trouble. So says a new study measuring "Web rage," or violence spurred by Internet-related frustration, performed by British pollsters Market & Opinion Research International. The survey of 1,000 people found that 54% experience Net frustration on a weekly basis, and 11% deal with it daily.

When people get mad at the Internet, they take it out on the real world. Seven percent of respondents say they hit their equipment, 4% pound on their desks, and 2% say they've hit the person who sits next to them.

Slow-loading Web sites are the biggest cause of irritation, followed by unhelpful help buttons.