Some computers may go down around the world when the calendar changes from 1999 to 2000, but any glitches will be nothing like the catastrophes some doomsayers have predicted, technology analysts said Tuesday.

They estimate fewer than 10 percent of all Y2K-related failures will occur during the first two weeks of January, with 55 percent of them spread throughout the whole coming year.

The United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands are probably the most advanced when it comes to Y2K computer compliance, while the countries lagging behind are Russia, other former Soviet states, India, Pakistan and the Afghanistan region, and parts of central and western Africa, they told reporters on a conference call. MORE >>