Consumer World Celebrates 10th Anniversary Online with Gas Buying/Driving Habits Survey Release and ID Theft Protection Giveaway

Survey: Over half of drivers are now buying less gasoline because of high prices, and that has caused many to fundamentally change the way they drive, shop, and run errands. The release of this survey marks Consumer World's 10th anniversary online. To celebrate, readers have a chance to win annual memberships to a credit monitoring service, and get a once-in-a-lifetime deal on Consumer Reports.

(PRWEB) September 22, 2005 -- More than half of consumers are cutting back on gasoline purchases in part by changing where, when, and how they drive and shop, according to a survey released today by Consumer World [http://www.consumerworld.org, a leading non-commercial consumer education website.

The non-random survey conducted among over 1,200 visitors to Consumer Worlds website between September 13 and 21, showed that 59% of responders are buying less gas since the price passed the $3 a gallon mark, while 40% say they are buying the same amount.

How are drivers managing to get by on less gas? Comments posted on the website suggest they are bunching errands into one planned trip; shopping at stores on the way to/from work or closer to home; switching to mass transit, more fuel-efficient vehicles, or walking more; driving closer to 55 mph; and reducing pleasure driving.

"High gas prices have fundamentally changed the way many people drive and run errands," said Edgar Dworsky, Consumer Worlds founder. "They are being much more efficient now."

Consumer World Turns 10

The release of this survey coincides with the 10th anniversary of Consumer World online.

Back in the stone age of the Internet in 1995, just weeks after the debut of a little bookstore named Amazon.com and a small auction site named eBay, a Boston consumer advocate launched an online public service consumer resource guide called Consumer World. The site, which has now become one of the largest non-commercial consumer education sites on the Internet, is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Billed as "the Yahoo! of consumer information," Consumer World now has over 2000 links to "everything consumer," including buying advice and product reviews, price comparison tools, discount shopping sites, money and financial education resources, government and corporate consumer affairs departments listings, and more.

The front page of Consumer World is updated weekly with the latest consumer news, scam alerts, money management tips, and a "Bargain of the Week." A free weekly email newsletter and MrConsumer.coms daily blog also keep readers up-to-date with the latest consumer news.

To celebrate its 10th anniversary beginning Monday, September 26th, visitors to Consumer World can enter a drawing to win one of 15 annual memberships to Experians Credit Manager service which allows continual access to ones credit report and score, and monitors that report daily to help prevent ID theft. Official rules for the giveaway can be found at: http://www.consumerworld.org/pages/cwanniv3.htm

All visitors will also be able to take advantage of a special "Bargain of the Week." A two-year subscription to Consumer Reports magazine will be only $22.95 -- that is $3 less than the publisher normally charges for just one year. [Consumer World and BestDealMagazines are subsidizing the price to offer this unheard of deal.

Consumer World was born in late September 1995 after veteran consumer advocate Edgar Dworsky decided to publish the 600 consumer-oriented links he had collected surfing the Internet. "All the great consumer resources I found were too useful not to share with the public as an educational tool," said Dworsky. Dworsky is a former assistant attorney general in consumer protection in Massachusetts.

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