The Home Affairs Bureau has commissioned the University of Hong Kong to conduct a telephone survey from today to early April to gauge the public's participation in gambling and the prevalence of problem and pathological gambling.

The bureau said the survey will track the results of a similar study conducted in 2001.

The 15 to 64-year-old interviewees will be randomly selected from residential telephone directories.

Apart from a survey of the general population, the bureau will also survey adolescents. Problem and pathological gamblers and those close to them will also be invited to attend focus group discussions.