THE arrival of the Information Age was finally confirmed yesterday when like the Gulf war and chronic fatigue a new syndrome was named after it.

Information overload syndrome is the result of the rapid growth of communications such as faxes, voice mail, electronic mail, junk mail and the Internet, according to a new international survey.

Its symptoms include a feeling of inability to cope with the incoming data as it piles up, and it can result in mental stress and even physical illness which may require time off work. The survey found that it is a growing problem among managers and almost all expect it to become worse rather than better.

Executives and their juniors say they are caught in a dilemma: everyone tells them that, they should have more information so that they can make better decisions, but the proliferation of sources makes it impossible to keep abreast of the data.

The report, called "Dying for Information?" and compiled by Reuter, drew on interviews with 1,300 managers in Britain and elsewhere. It found that half already complained of information overload syndrome and its ensuing problems caused by "enormous" amounts of unsolicited information.