The Internet and e-mail have given American workers the ability to access a world of data and connect with colleagues and clients across the globe in an instant.

They've also given workers the ability to waste time by shopping for Christmas gifts online, forwarding chain letters and watching viral videos on YouTube.

A recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive found that 7 of 10 office workers in the United States surf the Internet at work for non-work purposes, while more than half use their work e-mail accounts for personal reasons.

So is technology saving time in the workplace or wasting it? The question doesn't have an easy answer.

"It's a story that doesn't flow in one direction," said Lee Rainie, executive director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a think tank in Washington, D.C.

To be sure, Internet access in the workplace has created a cottage industry for information technology professionals, whose client companies want to monitor their workers' use of technology.

"It's becoming more and more of an issue," said Stacy Schuettler of LBMC Technologies, an IT firm with offices in Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis, Tenn. and Birmingham, Ala.

In addition to typical network security measures - firewalls, virus protection, anti-spam software - IT companies are providing solutions to help companies enforce their technology-use policies.

RM Technologies Group of Knoxville uses software from the company Websense, which can categorize Web sites, limit access to non-work sites and deliver reports to administrators about how employees are using the Internet, said CEO Paul Sponcia.

"Everywhere we implement it, people are amazed when they see what sites people are actually going to," he said.

RM Technologies recently installed the software for its sister company, accounting and consulting firm Rodefer Moss & Co.

"As a professional services firm, we bill our clients for our time," said Christine Bell, manager of staff and organizational development for Rodefer Moss. "It's really important for us to know it's being used in the most efficient way."

For cases of serious misuse, a company could take the step of installing a keylogger, which monitors every action taken on a particular computer, said Ken Billings, owner of Billings Consulting, an IT firm in Knoxville.

Still, Billings said any technological solution should be accompanied by a clear company policy on technology use.

"There's only so much technology can do," Billings said. "It's got to be sort of a hand-in-hand relationship with policy in the company."

But regardless of efforts by companies to limit unproductive uses, technology has expanded the capabilities of the American workforce. E-mail has opened up a new avenue of instant communication, while the Internet offers vast amounts of information.

Rainie pointed out another impact of technology: More people are using cell phones, personal digital assistants and laptop computers to conduct business outside of the workplace.

"If you add up the minutes that are non-work minutes at work, and add up the work minutes that take place outside of work, those numbers are probably about the same," Rainie said.

Plus, being unproductive wasn't exactly invented in the information age.

"There were lots of other ways to idle away time at work pre-Internet," Rainie said. "Most people say they're working harder, in part because of these new tools."